The terrible tragedy which claimed the lives of 17-year-old Moya Barrett and her six-year-old twin sisters, Teneisha and Taneisha Calder, in a fire at their home in Bamboo, St Ann last Saturday, raises for us, once again, the issue of irresponsible parenting.

For according to the story in our Monday edition, the tragedy occurred in the absence of an adult.

We are not passing judgement on the girls’ mother, Ms Angella Newman, who was reportedly at the supermarket when the fire broke out at about 10:00 pm.

Nor on the late Miss Barrett, who was in charge of her siblings when the tragedy occurred.

For it is obvious that the young shoulders of this girl, whom we understand was a promising student, were carrying a heavy responsibility. On the night of the tragedy, we read, she was busy trying to calm the twins who were crying from hunger and exhaustion. But it appears that the stress of having to cook and care for them on that particular night overwhelmed her.

Yes, some may argue, that at 17 Miss Barrett was capable of taking care of her siblings.

But we wonder how many nights prior she had undergone the same stress.

What sort of support system did she have at her disposal?

The task of caring for one young child, much more three, is by no means easy.

It would be instructive to find out where the fathers of these girls were that night.

Where are they now?

Do they consider themselves in any way responsible for their failure to be there for those girls on that or any other night?

What, in their absence, did they put in place for the care of their seed?

These are questions which we hope will be asked and answered at some level, even as we mourn the death of these children.

For the story of children dying in house fires while their parents are, for whatever reason, out is much too familiar for our comfort. So familiar is this phenomenon, in fact, that we seriously feel that it is time to take it out of the accident category.

It is time for the men and women of this society to stop taking such a casual approach to the reproductive process.

Those who bring children in this world must be made, by whatever means necessary, to take responsibility for them in every way that matters.

They must be made to understand that it is simply not acceptable to plant a seed and take off, for whatever reason, in the expectation that someone else will nurture it.

Otherwise, stories like the one we carried on Monday will continue to the detriment of all of us.