Police host positive parenting indaba
NHLANGANO – The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), under the Shiselweni Headquarters Crime Prevention Unit, hosted a positive parenting indaba, where different stakeholders and parents discussed ways to keep children out of crime.
The police said they had noted how most parents neglected their children, which made them participate in criminal activities.
It was said that several children carried dangerous weapons to school and when walking around the communities because they were neglected by their parents.
Protection
According to the police, the purpose of the indaba was to remind parents that they still had a responsibility to take care of their children in the context of other laws that deal with their protection.
Different topics from a child’s conception, birth and growing up were discussed, wherein the stakeholders voiced their opinions. Some of the stakeholders included prosecutors, social welfare officers, His Majesty’s Correctional Services, Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force officers, nurses, the transport industry and the Eswatini Football Association among other stakeholders. There were also parents from rural areas and caregivers.
Police Science Lecturer Bhekithemba Dlamini said the behaviour of parents, when conceiving a baby determined the future behaviour of that minor. He said in the event the father was a thief and the mother a Christian, research shows that the child was bound to inherit one of the two behaviours. He said it was important for the child to be raised by positive minded parents for them to grow in a nurturing environment. There were also social welfare officers and prosecutors who spoke about the rights of the child during pregnancy as well as those of the mother and their responsibilities.
One speaker asked nurses about the rights of the mother and child during childbirth. One of the nurses, in the panel, said when midwifing they had to consider the safety of both the mother and the child.
She said she was aware that some mothers mistook the treatment with abuse, yet they were preventing the mother from harming the child during birth.
Upon birth and growing up, it was also discussed that parents were supposed to make sure their children were monitored regardless of their age. This included searching their bags and rooms for illegal substances.
Pregnant
In one incident, it was said that a certain parent only learnt that her child was pregnant when she was in labour, yet she stayed with her full time. Parents were told that they were not supposed to neglect their children, but to apply positive parenting.
In an interview, Shiselweni Region In-charge Crime Prevention Inspector Sakhile Mncina stated that they were hoping that the parents who attended the meeting would spread the word.
She stated that they were looking for positive change and were hoping that there would be a crime-free generation in years to come because of the indaba they had.