PARENTS have been urged to spend more time with their children in a bid to understand challenges they are grappling with.
An Arusha based Social Welfare Officer, Mr Hassan Aufi observed here at the weekend, that it was easy for parents to discover when their children are engaging in questionable activities, if they take time to talk to them.
However, this hasn’t been the case as parents get preoccupied by other responsibilities, at the expense of their children’s welfare, according to the Sociologist.
“We are so busy that we tend to forget about our children, we get back home when they are already asleep, this isn’t good at all,” insisted the Social Welfare Officer, at a Parents’ Engagement session held at Mwandet High School.
According to Mr Aufi, children were now, more than before, exposed to child sex offenders, hence the need of parents to spend more time with their children.
“Parents need to have one on one sessions with their children, which entails asking them how the day at school was and what kind of strangers they met on their way back.
“These children are going through adolescence and they need a lot of care and guidance from their parents. There is need to understand that children are transiting in two ways, from childhood to adulthood and to Junior Secondary School and require a lot of guidance,” he said.
The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states that parents and guardians have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child.
Earlier on, a Programme Social Worker and Community Liason Officer with Girls Livelihood and Mentorship Initiative (GLAMI), Nyamidela Mgata challenged parents and guardians to be honest with their children.
This, will enable children to freely express themselves and easily share their predicaments, according to Ms Mgata. GLAMI mentors will support secondary school girls in Tanzania to complete their education, develop into confident leaders, and transform their own lives and their communities.
