Jump
the Cracks
Jump
the Cracks, by Stacy
DeKeyser, is a book about a teenage girl who is traveling on a train
to see her father, and then finds a two-year-old boy whose mother
abuses him. The mom leaves her son on the train in the bathroom, so
the girl takes the boy and goes across America, because she wants the
child to be safe. I think that was a good idea, but I think she
should have called the police instead.
The
little boy, called Wills, had fallen through the cracks. Until he
rode the train that day, no one helped him while he was being abused.
This happens to many kids; children fall through the cracks all the
time. I don't know how many, but a lot. Parents can abandon their
kids if they want to. The kids can't do anything about it. Children
can be hurt or beaten, by adults. Kids can get starved, because their
parents don't feed them. Children can't take care of themselves yet,
because they are still too young. These are some of the ways kids
fall through the cracks.
I
think most people ignore instances of public child abuse. They do
this because they don't want to get involved, or they are afraid that
if they do, they might get hurt. People see what is going on, but
they don't do anything about it. Let me just tell you, “IT'S
EVERYONES' PROBLEM!” When people see it they should help, but they
don't. Some people do help stick up for the kids who are being
abused. I hope people realize that they can save a kid's life by
stopping or reporting any abuse that they see.
The
right thing that should be done to help children is to help the kids
that are in need. People who help can be a real hero when they do.
Kids need a family that cares for them, not one where the parents
fight all the time. Kids need a home that is safe, not abusive.
Children need a family that loves them, not one who treats the kids
like they don't exist.
The
girl in the book, Jump the Cracks, is a hero. Everyone who
helps save a kid's life by making sure they have enough to eat, are
not being hurt and aren't left alone is doing a good deed. People
should help kids if they are in need of help. They need to call the
police if there is a kid getting abused by their parents. That's what
I think should be done. What do you think should be done to help?
