Many of us, so-called educated and well-bred, love to pass judgment on others whom we view as being illiterate or beneath us.

Over the past week and a half, I have read several articles on the teenage mother who reportedly abandoned her two-year-old daughter for a night of partying. Despite the apparent callous and irresponsible action, we need to take a deeper look at the entire situation.

In psychology, there is a term called 'faulty attribution'. This speaks to the assessment that others make of you based on a particular behaviour demonstrated at a particular time. Further research on the terminology indicates that because the onlooker (who makes the assessment) does not know an individual under other circumstances (the norm) they do not make a right judgment of who the individual is, but instead what they see of the person in a snap shot moment.

Good parenting

This is exactly the situation of this mother's case. If we would take a deeper look, we would realise that this young woman was impregnated at 16-years-old. At 17, she had a child - a deformed child, which even the well-bred and educated would have difficulty caring for.

Based on the media reports, there is no father around for this child. Thus, we can surmise that this teenager is single-handedly raising her child who has special needs.

This raises, for me, another point. How many of us have sought to assist this young woman? How many of us have sought to help the child? As Jesus said, 'those without sin cast the first stone'. Those who have condemned her so outrightly, should give her a helping hand and perhaps teach her what good parenting should be. After all, we know it all, don't we?

I am, etc.,

M.A. RAMGEET

concernjamaican@aol.com