Childline Zimbabwe, a child protection specialist organisation, has commenced the training of parents in Mbare on positive parenting.
The training, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Goal Zimbabwe, is designed to develop a strong, deeply committed relationship between parents and children based on communication and mutual respect.
According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), positive parenting and care practices encompass health, nutrition, early learning, security, safety and responsive caregiving.
The UN also recognises that family policies, including positive parenting, have a great potential to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three.
‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’, the SDG three read.
The implications of positive parenting means child-right abuses, female genital mutilation (FGM), gender-based violence (GBV), domestic violence, child marriages and other actions detrimental to the healthy growth of children are eliminated.
‘Parents play an important role in protecting children. With support from [USAID] and [Goal Zimbabwe], we are training parents in [Mbare] on positive parenting’, Childline Zimbabwe tweeted.
Data from Sonke Gender Justice shows that there are no positive parenting policy and insufficient gender transformation in Zimbabwe.
Additional data from the report also shows that policies that encourage men to take responsibility for their children, irrespective of relationship status, are inadequate in Zimbabwe.
The State of the World’s Fathers 2015 report found that men who take on the role of caregivers build a more gender-equal environment because their children are less likely to be bound by stereotypical gender norms.
Source: Childline Zimbabwe
Photo source: Childline Zimbabwe
