Child Beggars

On the metro this morning, a man came on with his child and gave a speech about why he needs money and then he and his young son went up the train to collect money. This child had experience doing this as he started walking and asking people for coins before his father was done his speech.

A few weeks ago, 2 young girls (about 10 and 6), were on the metro dancing to music with their music player, alone, with no adult, and also asking everyone for money. When they did not get any, the older girl got quite angry at the younger girl.

Sometimes when leaving the metro, there are parents with their children sitting on the ground begging for money also.

In all these instances I get really sad. I think it is horrible that the parents are using their children as leverage for people to give them money. These children are NOT being taught a good way of life, they are trained as children how to beg for money, and when they do not receive much, I am sure they resent the world. I explicitly would not give money to these parents using their children when they are begging as I think it is very wrong. Whether poor or not, these children should not be exploited by anyone, including their parents, and should be let to be as ignorant as possible to the world while they are really young. A nice Saturday afternoon with their parents should not be sitting down, looking as sad as possible begging for money in the metro. The French government is supposed to provide support for these people, and if they cannot receive it, then most likely they are illegal immigrants, but also there are just rings of beggars that do this for "work" in a very organized fashion. It is sad when we are told to watch out for child pick-pocketers and ones who will try and scam you with for example "the lost ring" trick, on the streets. This is Paris, but sometimes, it doesn't feel like it.