The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has advised parents to live up to their responsibilities of raising their children well for the good of society.

The minister made the call in Abuja on Thursday at the inauguration of a document titled ‘Parenting for Peace (P4P): Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) Training of Trainers’ (ToT) guide’.

She said it was the duty of parents to mould the children from the age of six months to ensure they grow to be responsible citizens.

“I usually carried out drug tests on my children when they were growing. Parents should be ashamed of themselves when a child is going the wrong way,” said Ms Kennedy-Ohanenye.

The minister also advised that parents should be cautious about the behaviour they display before their children, saying, “Children learn very fast from the behaviours of their parents.”

She said the way a woman lives with her husband at home would determine how the children would grow to live.

David Gatare, chief of party of CIPP, said Mercy Corps was proud to work in crisis areas to cushion conflict and economic shocks while providing humanitarian assistance and building resilient communities.

Mr Garare said over three million people in the past five years had been impacted through the organisation’s peace-building, governance and conflict resolution initiatives, education, financial inclusion and environmental sustainability.

He added that the organisation was driven by the vision of a Nigeria where all citizens, including young women and men, are empowered, engaged, resilient and productive.

“At Mercy Corps, our work is on gender, peace and security; it focuses on addressing and mitigating gender dynamics that perpetuate and exacerbate conflict while including diverse groups and members of the society,” stated Mr Garare.

Blessing Amadi, the deputy chairwoman of the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, also said parents should create time for discussions with their children.

According to her, having time with the children, listening and giving them advice form part of good parenting, which parents should imbibe. 

She called on parents to apply disciplinary measures in their homes to teach the children how to be responsible and to know the consequences of all actions, whether good or bad.

Ms Amadi said that parents need to educate the children by getting involved in their assignments and guiding them to know the rudiments of education.

She also said parents should be concerned with the security of their children at home and in school and teach them the dangers of random movements without authorisation.

“The children should also be guided on the responsible use of technology devices,” she added.

(NAN)