Be not weary in well doing, Minister Holness

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

We have, for very obvious reasons, been highly supportive of the Government's plan to promulgate a National Parenting Policy that hopefully would bring parenting into the formal education system.

Which is why we have made serious note of Education Minister Andrew Holness's announcement to this newspaper suggesting that he, as the one tasked with driving the policy, will have to draw brakes, so to speak, while he courts the various stakeholders.

On the surface of it, Mr Holness has a point that the policy would have to be sold to parents. He fears that many parents won't like to face the bald truth upon which the policy is built -- that too many of them have abdicated their responsibility to their children.

"One of the things that I have been very cautious in doing is in putting out the National Parenting Policy because there are some very important things we must say, but they may not be politically acceptable to half of the people, so we have to keep building to the point where they come to the understanding that you can't come to the next level until you do this," the minister tells us.

We know well, from hard experience, the danger of pushing through a policy that has not achieved broad-based support from the people who will be most affected by it, so no problem there.

The fear that we have, however, is that if Mr Holness and his Government are to wait until enough parents agree on the fundamentals of such a policy, we will never get to the point where we will be able to promulgate one.

Worse, we will never be able to implement a parenting policy that is dependent on the ability to not offend any parent, with the truth or otherwise.

The only reason we are even talking about introducing a parenting policy is the widespread lack of proper parenting. In both the researched and anecdotal evidence, it is clear that many of our children are being left to their own devices.

The many children on the streets instead of being in school, the large numbers who do no homework after school, the many who are in school but are failing because of no parental supervision, the unacceptably high number of children who die in fires when left at home alone, not to mention the abandoned ones, tell the stark and sordid story of broken homes without adequate parenting.

The process of arriving at an acceptable parenting policy is going to be long and tortuous. That is the very reason why the minister cannot afford to tarry. He must press along.

Given the nature of a matter such as parenting, even when a policy is formulated, it will continue to be a work in progress. Parents must be made to face the harsh truth. Mollycoddling to suit political ends will certainly not do.

Our unsolicited advice to Minister Holness is that he should not be weary in well doing, for in due season he shall reap, if he faints not.

POST A COMMENT

You must first register and then login to be able to post a comment.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and before commenting you need to register, conveniently, by clicking the link above.

COMMENTS (3)

John Smith
9/8/2010

So I guess this would be - said another way - a form of adult social education? Well needed. Can't blame him for being weary because this thing gets personal and up in people's business, and at that point 'well doing' becomes a very subjective term.

peter hamilton
9/8/2010

di problem with onu so called educated people is dat onu dont understand dat parents out there r just as dunce as dem pickeney suh mi nuh know how u a guh hav a policy fi betta dem an dem pickeny an onu a wait pan dem to mek up dem mind to buy into it by den a election call goverment change dat crap an 48 years later wi still cant reach where barbados is today an den di same parent dey a jubilee a hav 1 more wat a state we live into

Maude Cooper
9/8/2010

This parenting education is crucial especially when fathers are not present, for as many of us are aware that especially mothers, the skills they acquire in parenting is what they learn from their own mothers, which most times falls short. And so the children are short changed (so to speak) in the end. The clinics for young mothers or drop in centres at churches should offer parenting classes by “knowledgeable” instructors. The earlier the start the better it will be for the children, by school age it is almost too late. As a parent and someone who studied a little about parenting I know that such experience is invaluable.

Did you watch American football's Super Bowl on Sunday?
	Yes, but just for the advertisements
	Yes, just for the game itself
	Yes, for both the game and advertisements
	No, I did not watch the Super Bowl.

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password:

INDECOM investigates brothers’ deaths

Be not weary in well doing, Minister Holness