Parents and guardians have been challenged to take their parenting role seriously in order to raise morally upright children.
Stakeholders drawn from the Education sector, Inter-religious Council, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), County and National Governments, converged in Kajiado County, noted that parents have left the responsibility of molding their children to teachers.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting held in Kajiado town, the chairman ENAI Africa, Jeremiah ole Kikua called on parents to take advantage of the one-week holiday and spend quality time with their children, with a view to advising them on how to make responsible choices in life.
Kikua noted that parents nowadays hardly have time for their children as they are busy working, thus making it easy for the youngsters to fall into peer pressure and make wrong decisions.
He added that cases of drug abuse and teenage pregnancies were on the rise, primarily because children have been left alone without proper guidance and counselling, especially during the holiday season.
“Parents have abdicated their cardinal responsibility of guiding and molding their children into responsible future citizens. They are overly immersed in their daily routines and do not even know what their children do during the day when schools are closed,” said Ole Kikua.
The Chairman urged parents to always monitor their children’s movements to ensure that they keep good company and protect them from sexual predators.
He added that cases of child abuse have been on the rise in the country in the recent past, thus parents must exercise extra vigilance.
Kikua underscored the very important role played by parents in shaping a child’s character, adding they should remain close to their children, so that they can spot and correct any wayward behavior at an early stage.
On her part, the County Deputy Director of Gender, Mary Taiko, reiterated that parents have a responsibility to nurture their children to be morally upright right from a young age and this responsibility should not be abdicated to teachers.
Taiko noted that as a result of parents being absent in their children’s life, many vices such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and early marriages have been on the rise.
She advised parents to constantly talk to their children to ensure that they do not fall into negative peer pressure.
By Rop Janet
