Parenting Education Project to be expanded - Green
Published:Monday | November 26, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Floyd Green has said that the Parenting Education Project will be expanded to reach more parents across the island.
The initiative, which is currently in six parishes, aims to promote positive parenting practices and family-management skills among parents and caregivers of children ages two to six who are beneficiaries under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
Green, in a speech delivered by Education Officer for Region Four Patricia Mumby-Lalor at the graduation ceremony for project participants in St James last week Wednesday, said: "Come 2019, we will be expanding the intervention into seven new parishes.
"We will continue to work with our stakeholders to provide information and support to parents, including those with children with special needs."
Green hailed the initiative, being undertaken through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), for putting the spotlight on the need for good parenting in the nation's homes.
POSITIVE HABITS
He encouraged the beneficiaries to use the training to instill positive habits in their children and "spread the learning you have gained to your communities".
"You now have the social skills to help others to be better parents. If you spread the word, all the children in the communities will be helped, and the communities will be transformed," he pointed out.
"You have been given this opportunity to participate in a very worthwhile initiative. The home is the first place where children learn good values, attitudes, and behaviour. Parents play a vital role in their children's development, and we encourage you to use the knowledge gained from the Parenting Education Programme to guide how you raise and care for your children," he added.
Green further appealed for more fathers to participate in their children's lives, noting that the quality of interaction will go a long way in making the home a safer and happier place.