IN the wake of the recent rash of adolescent suicides which stunned the nation, Churches Co-operative Credit Union (CCCU) has opted to make building self-esteem in children the focus of its 2011 parenting seminar.

The free training and coaching workshop will be held at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel on May 24 at 5:30 pm, and will take the format of an informative, interactive session where professionals from a variety of fields will offer advice and answer questions on the topic.

“In staging the event, CCCU is aiming to fill a critical need by providing a forum for parents to get coaching and practical tips on raising well-adjusted, psychologically healthy children,” said a release from the credit union.

The agenda for this year’s seminar — being held under the theme “Building self-esteem in your child: Bought, taught or born” — will feature presentations from three highly qualified and well-experienced counselling professionals who will each speak about the different factors that affect a child’s emotional well-being.

Pat Eves- McKenzie, senior counsellor at the University of Technology, will deliver a presentation on the subject “Understanding the self as a human being, masculine or feminine”. Althea Bailey, lecturer at the University of the West Indies, and an adolescent health counsellor and consultant, will speak on the topic “Factors that affect a child’s self image — negative and positive”. Counselling psychologist Joan Pinkney, for her part, will look at the subject “Changing self image in the child: What message am I sending?”.

“CCCU has been staging its annual parenting seminar for more than eight years now, in response to the challenges facing the parents of youths under various influences. Jamaicans have seen an increase in the number of crimes and violent acts being committed against children in recent times and also have had to deal with the increasing influence of societal factors on their children,” the release noted, explaining the CCCU’s reasons for hosting the seminar.

“More specifically, the media’s influence in encouraging engagement in early sexual behaviour, substance abuse and other unhealthy practices, have also proven extremely challenging to parents. This year, CCCU felt that a parenting symposium which focuses on self-esteem is both timely and necessary,” it added.

According to CCCU’s manager of marketing and communications, Juven Montague Anderson: “Self- esteem affects all areas of a child’s life — from their schoolwork, to their ability to relate to others, to how they will function in society when they become adults — and it is a proven fact that parents play the most vital role in helping children develop healthy self-esteem.”

“Research has shown that a child’s level of self-esteem is directly affected by how their parents deal with them; as children with high self-esteem tend to have parents who show them love and acceptance while children with low self-esteem often have parents who are judgmental and overly critical. With this in mind, CCCU felt it was necessary to devote this year’s seminar to helping parents learn how to help their children in this important area of their personal development,” she added.

Last year, the CCCU’s parenting seminar focused on child discipline with the thought-provoking theme “Matters of discipline: How far is too far?”. The previous year, it focused on the topic: “Parenting in a volatile society: How to be your child’s friend while still being a parent”.

“Both events were very well attended with individuals taking great advantage of the interactive format between themselves and the presenters. Participants had many of their questions answered and left feeling heartened,” the release noted.

Meanwhile, the CCCU has retained the popular question and answer segments for this year’s seminar and participants will again have the opportunity to get specific advice and direct feedback from the counselling professionals.

“Always a resounding success, Churches Co-operative Credit Union expects similar results from this year’s seminar (as in previous years) and commits to continuing the series in a bid to help parents execute their responsibilities for the benefit of their children.

Established in 1971, CCCU has been a member of the Jamaica Co-Operative Credit Union League since 1977. As the island’s second

largest credit union in terms of membership, the organisation offers a comprehensive range of financial services, including savings and investment accounts, loans, insurance packages and a pension fund.