14. February 2023
Public policy
Child and Youth Protection in Carnival 2023
The City of Bocholt - Youth, Family, School and Sport and Public Order Departments - is once again using the poster campaigns "Youth Protection? ...but sure!" and "PARTY?...but sure!" on the subject of alcohol consumption.
All adults are urged to pay attention to the children and young people around them. The innkeepers and shop assistants, the organisers of the carnival procession and also the parents have a special responsibility. Parents are requested not to pass on alcohol to minors, to watch out for young people who are drunk and, if necessary, to take the necessary measures to help them.
The Youth Protection Act aims to protect children and young people and sets clear limits. This means:
- No distribution of alcoholic beverages to children and young people under the age of 16, not even consumption. For other alcoholic beverages such as spirits, the age limit is 18 years!
- Likewise, the consumption of tobacco products of any kind, such as (e-)cigarettes and (e-)shishas, in public is only permitted from the age of 18.
Why does alcohol endanger children and young people in particular?
- Alcohol is a neurotoxin and cytotoxin which, when consumed in excess, affects the organs as well as the mental state.
- Children and adolescents are more susceptible to any harm than adults because their bodies are developing.
- Since the lower body weight makes the alcohol content in the blood rise faster, children and adolescents are particularly at risk.
- Children and adolescents are more at risk of alcohol poisoning with the associated health consequences.
Parents in particular have a responsibility to protect their children from the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. All parents are therefore called upon to fulfil their duty of supervision and to ensure that their children are not already intoxicated when they go to the parade and also not to bring any alcohol to the carnival parade.
In addition, the Department of Public Order urgently appeals to all carnivalists to refrain from bringing glass containers to the Shrove Monday procession. Even worse than the costs of waste disposal is the fact that broken glass causes tyre damage to emergency vehicles year after year. Injuries also occur time and again. Children in particular are at risk of being injured by broken glass when collecting sweets. When cleaning up at the end of the procession, small bottles of liquor pose a particular problem, as they bounce away under the tyres of the cleaning vehicles and become dangerous projectiles. Hence the urgent appeal: Support the full-time and volunteer emergency services by leaving glass containers at home!
Emergencies will again be taken care of in the Malteser tent on the Gasthausplatz. This serves as a contact point for people in need of help or missing children.