Parents Must Influence Children – NPSC

The National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, is spearheading activities for Parent Month 2019.

During the month of November, several activities will be executed under the ‘Be the Influence’ campaign. This year’s observance of Parent Month is a culmination of the three-year Be the Influence campaign.

Chief Executive Officer of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, said the final leg of the campaign is embedded in three pillars – show empathy, show love and show respect. Parents, guardians and caregivers are, therefore, encouraged to embrace these pillars during the month and beyond.

“They should try to understand and feel their children’s pains, apprehensions and concerns; exercise patience, guide and help their children to model forgiveness; and to treat children in a manner that acknowledges their humanness,” she said.

Several parenting education school workshops will be hosted across the island throughout the month, while parent villages will be mounted in Steer Town, St. Ann, on Saturday, November 9; Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, on November 16; and Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on November 23.

The NPSC is encouraging all schools to engage parents by organising parenting sessions guided by the 2019 pillars, as well as sessions on positive parenting, with special focus on the tagline, ‘Strike a conversation, not your child’. According to Miss Kerr, Parent Month seeks to highlight parental involvement in schools, among others.

“Many schools have been fostering a culture that facilitates parental involvement,” she said.