UNTHINKABLE acts of children who cause the deaths of other children that have manifested in the recent past, are indeed a worrying trend.

These have been accentuated by two dastardly tales of a girl strangling a fellow schoolgirl and a schoolboy stabbing another to death.

Yet another disturbing case involves a teen causing the deaths of two other children and injuring several others in a reckless driving incident.

Just the thought of children committing murder, as shown by the ongoing court case of a Northern Cape teenager accused of killing his family, is repugnant to the norms of a civilised society.

A consideration of all these unnerving acts is enough to send shivers of fear down the spines of any self-respecting, peace-loving community of any race, religion or creed.

Experts cite several reasons for these horrendous acts by fellow human beings from whom the opposite is expected. These include mental illness, an absence of spiritual guidance, poor or no discipline, anobsession with violence and a fascination with a criminal lifestyle.

Some of the other factors are poverty, peer pressure, an association with violent, wayward fellow youths, the abuse of alcohol and drugs, depression, and having murderous or suicidal thoughts.

Sadly, the experts and other upright types fail to cast a keener, right-minded eye on the family, because violence is surely a learned behaviour, as is good, admirable behaviour.

While psychological problems require expert medical intervention, it is the socially-deviant behaviour that can most likely be tackled by collective social actions, starting in any society's most vital core component: the family unit.

Fear grips at the thought of a generation of loveless souls being nurtured by a world devoid of caring.

We should all consider instilling love, peace and compassion in their young charges, thus easing the burden on the overloaded shoulders of teachers.

Teachers and other vital players in the social development sector need to strengthen their roles to curb the destructive effects of peer pressure and factors to which most children fall prey, including bullying.

The family is arguably the foundation of any type of society a nation wishes to shape, starting with striving for unity, understanding, tolerance and caring.

Our future leaders should know and appreciate the sanctity of life and the value of love, and being loved. Compassion can be taught, and has to be taught - before it is too late.