Parenting Stakeholders Must Accept Responsibility for Actions – Holness

Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, emphasised today (October 30), that all stakeholders in the parenting process, must accept responsibility for their actions.
“One of the things that we have tried to do as a Government, is to develop this concept of personal responsibility and everyone needs first and foremost to take responsibility for themselves. We want parents to understand the importance of their role, whether it is to deal with issues of safety and security, education or family and parenting, and we need to take responsibility for our own well being,” he explained.
The Minister was speaking at the official launch of National Parent Month (November), at the Office of the Prime Minister. The month will be observed under the theme: ‘Parent the Right Way: Read with your child every day’.
“We also need to take responsibility for the decisions that we make and one of the most important decisions we make is to bring another life into the world. There is no greater decision that we make, but if the opinion makers were to reflect on that decision, they would realise that many people treat that decision trivially,” Mr. Holness said.
Parent Month will feature a number of activities, including parenting workshops, special recognition events offered across the island by Government agencies, non- governmental organisations (NGOs), churches, and schools, and there will be church services in each parish commencing with the National Church Service this Sunday (November 1), at the New Beulah Moravian Church, in Mandeville, Manchester, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness listens keenly to Chairman of the Coalition for Better Parenting (CBP), Janet Davis following the official launch of Parent Month yesterday (Oct. 30) at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston. Parent Month will be celebrated in November under the theme: ‘Parent the Right Way: Read with your child every day’.

Senior Adviser/Consultant to the Minister of Education, Dr. Rebecca Tortello, explained that the theme for the month stemmed from the Ministry’s thrust to improve literacy.
She also noted that Parent Month is an opportunity to celebrate parents and educate them on how they can be better parents.
“Although parenting is a priority every month of every year and our parents deserve support and recognition on a regular basis, we have chosen to set aside this month to remind us that it is important to celebrate our parents, reward them, as well as further educate them on how to be the best parents they can,” she said.
In the meantime, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Audrey Sewell, explained that the Ministry is pleased to be a key partner in the staging of National Parent Month.
“We see this as an important part of a wider thrust to address the problems that impact parenting and child care in Jamaica. The Ministry has been moving forward with its plans to establish the National Parenting Commission, as the Ministry recognises that parents are the first teachers, the first agents of socialisation. Without good parents there obviously cannot be a good society,” Mrs. Sewell said.
Partners for Parent Month 2009 include the Child Development Agency (CDA), Coalition for Better Parenting (CBP), National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ), Mothers, Palace Amusement Company, Spanish Jamaica Foundation and the Jamaica Information Service (JIS).