Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, addressing a luncheon by the Rotary Club of Barbados South

 

Some parents will soon get much needed help in developing skills to effectively fulfill their parenting roles when government launches an initiative for them within a few weeks.

This disclosure has come from Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, who said her Ministry would be introducing parenting programmes at a number of community centres and schools. She made the comments today at a luncheon put on by the Rotary Club of Barbados South at Accra Beach Hotel.

“We think it is something that is very urgent right now and from January we will be starting these community-based parenting initiatives,” Dr. Byer Suckoo stated.

According to her, some mothers and fathers could be described as “parents by default” because they had children, but were not coping with the realities or rigours of parenthood. “A lot of parents have thrown their hands in the air with their teenagers because they sometimes don’t know how to cope and communicate with them. And, that is even in the best of circumstances where parents spent all the pre-teen years trying to build that rapport.

“But, then there are parents who haven’t had the benefit of that rapport when the children were growing up, and when they reach 13, 14 or 15, they don’t know how they are going to communicate with their children. They suspect that children are having challenges…, but, they don’t know how to communicate, reach out to them and guide them on the right track. Then again, there are parents who don’t know that right track and how to get on it, so we think it is very important right now that our parents be given the tools to cope,” Dr. Byer Suckoo told the gathering.

Parent Education For Development In Barbados, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation will partner with the Ministry of Youth, Family and Sports for that initiative.

The Minister also revealed that her Ministry would be hosting family fun days throughout the island next year in an effort to assist families to forge closer bonds with each other. “There are families who don’t spend that quality time together because of their commitments and we want to encourage them to, at least once a month, come out and have some fun with each other.

 

 

“Very often, so many families spend their time just providing for those material needs…but they don’t have the time to relax together and that is just as important for family life as putting food on the table,” she argued.

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