Parents and guardians in Kajiado County have been urged to take up their parental responsibility seriously in order to bring up morally upright children.
According to Raymond Onkaya, parents have failed in their duties and have left the responsibility of molding children to teachers.
Onkaya, who is the chair of Kajiado Parents Association, lamented that parents have been caught up with work and hardly have time to spend with their children thus making it easy for them to fall into peer pressure and moral decay.
“It is high time that parents and guardians took up their responsibility seriously. Parents have left the role of guiding and molding their children to teachers as they are busy looking for money and this has led to children falling into bad behavior,” he said.
Onkaya further urged parents to always monitor their children’s movements to ensure that they keep good company and protect them from predators.
He noted that cases of child abuse, abductions and even killings have been on the rise in the recent past thus parents must be extra vigilant.
Onkaya said strengthening of the Nyumba Kumi system will ensure that every resident is known thus weed out criminals from the community who prey on innocent children.
Stephen Lesinko, a parent, reiterated Onkaya’s remarks and urged parents and guardians not to abscond their responsibility, stressing the important role they play in shaping the future of their children.
He noted that the church and other religious organizations play a crucial role in mentoring and guiding young persons through spiritual nourishment.
Lesinko urged parents to ensure their children always go to church so as to receive guidance and spiritual nourishment which will help mold them into responsible adults.
He added the association will be holding regular meetings to keep reminding parents of their responsibilities and advise them on how to bring up children amidst challenges like drug addiction, early pregnancies, and peer pressure among others.
By Rop Janet
