During the Covid restrictions, I often took myself to the park with my gymnastics rings. I’d hang them from a tree or the changing room roof and spend hours practicing strength work. It was my escape during a difficult time, a way to focus, to progress, to level up my skill.
While I was training, mums would stroll by with their children. Sometimes the kids were only one or two years old, but their faces would light up at the sight of a 6’3″ man hanging upside down from rings in the park. They were fascinated, fully engaged, wide-eyed, soaking it all in.
Not far away, on the other side of the changing rooms, two men would sit smoking and drinking. They weren’t violent or aggressively antisocial, but let’s be honest it wasn’t dignified either. Sitting in a public park, rolling up spliffs and swigging from cheap bottles, in full view of children and families it’s selfish. Adults who should know better, setting the worst possible example.
And here’s the truth: children absorb everything. Neuroscience shows that by the age of 5, a child’s brain is already 90% developed. In those early years, their brains are building over one million new neural connections every single second. What they see, what they hear, what they experience it all shapes the wiring of their future selves. When they witness consistent stress, chaos, or antisocial behaviour, studies show they are far more likely to develop anxiety, emotional regulation issues, and behavioural problems later in life.
Fast-forward to today, and our town is still locked in debate about antisocial behaviour. Some argue against additional security, worrying about “right-wing bullies” moving people along without offering solutions. But what too many are failing to see is this: it’s not just adults living with these behaviours. It’s children. Children who live in the town centre. Children who come in to shop with their parents. Children who don’t get to choose what they’re exposed to.
This past Saturday, a mother was calling an ambulance for a man having a drug-induced seizure in broad daylight. Her young daughter stood right beside her, watching it unfold like a scene from Casualty. Just think about that: the same absorbent, impressionable mind that lit up watching me swing on gymnastics rings is now watching an adult collapse from drugs in the middle of town.
And let’s call this for what it is: a disgrace. These adults are not victims when they choose to play out their addictions in the street, in front of children. They are not behaving with dignity or responsibility. They are dragging the public space down to their level selfishly, carelessly, and without thought for anyone else.
So ask yourself what lesson are we teaching the next generation? That adults can’t control their addictions? That we ignore our traumas rather than deal with them? That we’ve simply given up on trying to make things better? Because every time we look the other way, we set the bar lower for the next generation.
Children learn far more from what they see than from what they are told. If they grow up surrounded by resignation, chaos, and dysfunction, they will normalise it. And if they grow up seeing adults who take care of themselves, who strive, who show discipline and resilience they will absorb that instead.
That’s why having a dedicated security team in place matters. It’s not about heavy-handedness or moving people on without compassion. It’s about protecting the minds of our young by ensuring they are not constantly exposed to open drug use, street dealing, screaming, and shouting in the middle of town. It’s about shielding the most vulnerable our children, our elderly, and everyone who simply wants to live in a safe, dignified community.
So if you’ve given up, fine. But don’t let your resignation shape the future of the children you’re leaving this world to. They deserve more than that.