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26 Education & Career
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM VULNERABILITY Edited By Pa Modou Faal
I’ve been asked several times before: how did you do it? How you manage to raise such The short answer is, it was hard work. It wasn’t easy. I made lots of mistakes. Sometimes my children hated me for the restrictions I made. Somethings we laugh at today. The one thing that I did was I was I tried to be consistent. They knew that I would love them no matter what. Even if, after all I did and said, they made their own mistake, they knew that I would be there for them. There was no secret recipe. The was no, one rule fix all. I was just a constant present in their lives. Today’s challenges Today, some families are facing lots of challenges that may impact them as parents and carers. Statistics show that there has been an increase in emotional stresses in households. The reasons could be varied, i.e. loss of income through changes in Universal Credit, the loss of a job or the abuse of zero hours contracts. The emotional stress factors may lead to domestic violence, visits to food banks etc. All these and more may influence parent’s ability to parent. Should it stop us from parenting? That’s a question for you to answer. However, it’s our responsibility to parent our children, not the other way around. We have a duty of care to our children to provide a safe and secure environment. Should it stop us from parenting? That’s a question for you to answer. However, it’s our responsibility to parent our children, not the other way around. We have a duty of care to our children to provide a safe and secure environment.
How do we do it? • Providing a home, despite the daily challenges, that help our children feel secure. Doing this by making sure that they are fed, clean and get plenty of sleep. • Showing an interest in the things they enjoy. This might mean going to a museum, visiting the library etc. • Spending time talking. We could make the most of the opportunities when our child/children come to us and create other opportunities ourselves. Some families make sure that they eat together, as their children get older, at least once a week. You may have a ‘no phone’ rule while eating together. • Spending time doing the things they enjoy. It may be swimming, playing a board game, kite flying or even playing on a console etc. together. • Taking an interest in their education. This could be as simple as asking about their school day, hearing them read, taking an interest in their homework and going to parents’ evenings etc. Some parents’ remark that they don’t understand what their children are learning and so find it hard to communicate with them about school. • Can be easily solved by talking to your child’s teacher/school, you could encourage your child to be the expert and show you what they are learning, there are books, after school clubs or supplementary schools that can support your child if you feel you’re not in a position to help. Along with providing a quiet place at home so that that they can study.