By Quansah Mavis
Tema, Nov. 29, GNA – The Tema Metropolitan Social Welfare and Community Development has sensitised parents on child protection at the Tema Newtown Anglican Primary School to understand rights of their children and the responsibility of parents towards the growth and development of their wards.
The programme was funded by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund to help promote the rights of a child, child survival, and the development and elimination of child labour.
Parents were educated on the effects of child abuse, neglect, sexual assault, child labour, physical abuse, verbal abuse, and many more.
Mr. Enoch Ohene, social welfare and community development facilitator, stated in an interaction with a parent that parents are supposed to protect their wards from all sorts of social deviant behaviour for the children can grow to be good citizens of society and the nation at large.
He mentioned that parents were not allowed to involve their wards in any form of labour or vocational training under age 15 and advised parents to do their best to provide children with their basic needs rather than push them to trade on their own.
He said children could help parents after homework and should not exceed 1800 hours in the evening, because when social welfare gets parents doing that, they will be called to answer.
He noticed that teenage pregnancy cases in New Town were rising, and most of the causes were attributed to parental neglect, hence the need to sensitise parents about the welfare and protection of their wards.
Madam Edwina Akoto, a facilitator, stated that the number of teenagers who visit the social welfare centres with infections and pregnancy was alarming and ueged parents to befriend their children to be free to confront some challenges they face rather than resorting to their friends for advice.
She advised parents that the children learnt directly from the activities they see and should lead an exemplary life for the children to learn from.
“Parents, do not send your younger children to buy you alcohol and cigarettes. Also, do not allow others to send your wards to buy them, because the children tend to taste such things when the parents are not around or hide to drink from the same bottle; they used to purchase the alcohol, and this eventually tends to be their behaviour because they see it every day.”
She mentioned that social welfare and community development were doing their best to educate the parents on issues affecting the growth of their wards; however, it was the duty of the parents to implement the things they were taught and shared the SWCD office line with them so that they could call to seek help and assistance – 0558071165
The headmistress for the school, Madam Peace Mintah, also added that parents should ensure that their wards have books and other things that they need to facilitate their learning.
She mentioned that, since most parents spend much time with their businesses, the best way to create communication and bond with their children is by helping them with their homework and asking them about how things went and what happened in school. That way, the children will feel the interest of their parents in their academics, which will motivate them to learn hard.
She urged parents to have the personal contacts of their children’s teachers so that they can monitor the performances of their wards and once in a while pass the school to check if their wards are in school because it has come to the attention of the school that some children dress and take their feeding fees from their parents, but they do not come to school.
“I believe if parents come to the school to visit their wards and check on their performance, it will put the children in shape because they know their parents can come to the school to check on them any day.”
GNA