KINGSTON, Jamaica – Lobby group Hear The Children’s Cry (HTCC) wants the Government to fund a 10-year project to ‘disrupt poor parenting’ practices in Jamaica.

HTCC director, Nigel Cooper, says this would be a logical follow-up to the Government’s spending significant resources recently to help empower the police and the army to disrupt gangs and violence across the country.

According to Cooper, “The 2025 Child Month theme, ‘Act Now: Stand Against Child Abuse and Exploitation’ is timely, as the National Children’s Registry receives approximately 1,200 cases of abuse monthly. However, we need to realise that it will take significant resources and time to reverse this situation”.

“Jamaica is on a slippery slope, and Hear The Children’s Cry is calling on the Government to implement the proposed 10-year project to disrupt poor parenting practices as a matter of urgency. We recommend a multi-layered approach using personal interventions combined with behaviour modification campaigns, targeting parents with children in Grades 1 to 10 (6-16 year olds),” said Cooper

He explained that the project would need to be well-funded and could cost billions.

“Some may say we cannot afford this, but the fact is that we cannot afford not to launch such a project [as] for more than 40 years, social relations, including family dynamics and parenting, have been on the decline, with devastating impacts on our children and the nation at large,’ the HTCC director added.

“Changing culture is difficult, hence the need for a 10-year project to rebuild positive parenting. Hear The Children’s Cry is willing to work alongside the Government and other stakeholders to help to work out project design and costing details,” said Cooper.

He said non-governmental organisations and service clubs, such Kiwanis, can play significant roles in implementing such a project, which will add to efforts currently being undertaken by the Parenting Commission and the Child Protection and Family Services Agency.

HTCC’s ‘back-to-basics parenting plan involves:

-Challenging parents to engage their children in deep and uncomfortable conversations;

-Encouraging parents to use child month to take their children to church;

– Spend quality time playing with their child during this month – find a common game or sport that they can actively become involved with on a weekend or during the week if possible;

– Read with their child;

– Spend time communicating ‘the old fashioned way’— not via WhatsApp or social media, but directly engaging children;

– Fathers should use the time to get to know their sons’ and daughters’ likes and dislikes; there are too many absentee fathers – whether physically and/or emotionally absent;

– Give their child some TLC (tender loving care) – this month.