Parents in Narok County have been urged to take their parental role of guiding their girls to avert the raising trend of teenage pregnancies that currently stands at 40 percent in the county.
Narok County Commissioner Evans Achoki asked the parents to be on the lookout for what their children were doing during this season when schools are closed for a seven-week holiday.
His call comes at a time when teenage pregnancies in the county increased to 15, 500 in the year 2020 when schools were closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Achoki spoke today in his office after supervising the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) where he asked parents to be close to their children so that they can understand the challenges they were facing and guide them accordingly.
He criticized parents for sending their girls to shopping centers to buy foodstuff at dusk where they are exposed to men who drag them into engaging in premature sex.
The commissioner’s sentiments were echoed by the Narok Quality Assurance Director Robert Moseti who asked parents not to allow their children to move from house to house during night hours to do revision with their classmates yet the children go to engage in sex issues instead of concentrating on books.
“If you do not have electricity in your house buy a kerosene lamp that can give enough light for your children to do revision in their house, do not let them move from house to house during late hours,” he said.
Moseti said statistics show that most teenage pregnancies occur during holiday seasons warning parents to spend quality time with their girls to advice and counsel them during this long holiday period.
“Most parents send their children to their grandparents during holiday seasons and do not care to follow up on their progress. This is where they get enough time to meet men with evil intentions who cheat unto them before impregnating them,” he said.
Narok Baptist Church Senior Pastor Sammy Monka asked parents to take advantage of the long holiday to learn their character and behavior in order to give them the relevant counsel.
Pastor Monka asked parents to act as role models to their children and accompany them for any night meetings.
By Ann Salaton
