Family has crucial role in child development ? Min. Webster ...

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In recognition of the fact that human resources are the most valuable assets to a nation, social services provided to them are of utmost importance.
This was stated yesterday by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms Jennifer Webster, when she addressed a gathering at the Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown, to mark the re-launch of the Family Commission.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster.

The Commission, chaired by Reverend Kwame Gilbert, has been mandated to address issues pertaining to the family and more particularly issues focused on promoting good family life inclusive of parenting, leadership and social interaction in the home.
The work of the Commission, according to the Minister, will include but not be limited to issues related to gender-based violence as it will also cater to the protection of children, women and other social issues that have a direct daily impact upon the lives of members of the society.
?The work of this Commission is therefore fundamental to working to further improve social and moral fabric of our society,? Minister Webster noted.
She vocalised her expectation that the work of the Commission will reach throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
She spoke of the need for the far-reaching support in light of the fact that there are many single parent families headed primarily by women. ?As we all know the family is the nucleus of any society and it is therefore important for us to recognise the importance of the role of this Commission.
?In our homes the supportive role of the family cannot be over-emphasised?The home is the first and most formative frame of reference on which a child models his or her life.?
Minister Webster said that it is imperative that values and virtues are instilled in the lives of children since it is of paramount importance that they are given equal opportunities and treatment.
?If we perpetuate the prejudice for example that girls should stay indoors whilst boys are allowed to play outside we will therefore be enforcing the unnatural separations we see in the world where women are disproportionally saddled with household duties.
?If our girls are the first choice in forced absence from schooling we will continue with the cycle of economic inequities for women and its attendant to lack of independencies and autonomy,? assured the Minister.
Turning her attention to the fathers in the audience yesterday Minister Webster highlighted the fact that they are often the first man with whom a child interacts, a relation which could forever shape that child?s expectation of how he or she should be treated.
She sought to implore fathers as well as mothers to be cognizant of their roles even as she urged that they facilitate the discovery of their children?s true potentials.
?We need to recognise the importance of teaching our children values of life so that in years to come they would grow up to become upstanding citizens in our country who would be committed and dedicated to working for a better Guyana,? said the Minister.
It is also important, she added, that parents teach their children to respect their elders, to be responsible and respectful to everyone who they come into contact with be it in the home, at school, in the workplace in social settings, communities and the society at large.
?I wish to also emphasise that in our schools we need our girls and boys to be present and to perform to their full potential?We must dedicate our efforts to change some of the inappropriate attitudes and behavioural patterns which exist within our society.?
According to Minister Webster, it is not only imperative to encourage children to adopt positive attitudes, but it is crucial to urge them to inculcate mannerisms that could lend to them becoming respectful and decent adults in the future.
Of equal importance is the need to examine the socialisation process as all parents have an obligation to be positive role models to their children, said the Minister. She said, too, that the education system has a role to play by reinforcing these messages through the medium of health and family life education in the schools? curriculum.
?Whether you are a parent or grandparent, a relative, a friend, an elder or a preacher or teacher, spending a few extra moments mentoring a child can have an incomparable and indelible impact upon the shape of that child?s life and the future.?

Source: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2012/12/04/family-has-crucial-role-in-child-development-min-webster/

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