Every year, hundreds of men and women across Trinidad and Tobago are being given an opportunity to improve a skill that may be one of the hardest to perfect – parenting.
Minister of Social Development and Family Services, Donna Cox, highlights the importance of the Ministry’s Parenting Programme at the Launch of the 2024/2025 session.
“The Ministry is steadfast in the belief that strengthening families is central to addressing some of the most pressing challenges we face in our society today – issues like poverty, crime, domestic violence, child and elder abuse. Strengthening families is not just a moral imperative. It is a necessity for building a sustainable and prosperous future in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Communications, Symon de Nobriga, points out that parenting today is not like it was even a few decades ago.
“By empowering our parents, by treating with our parents to deal with the reality of parenting in this 21st century, the reality of coping with the traumas. How do we as parents learn how to separate, how to compartmentalize. How do we allow our children to grow and exist in a place of love, unaffected by the external forces that we as parents face every single day.”
Meanwhile, Director of the Children’s Authority, Sheldon Cyrus, notes denying a child an education, a trip to the dentist or doctor, or leaving him or her alone at home constitutes neglect.
“Our research has shown that in many cases the primary care giver is the person that is identified as perpetrating abuse and neglect. It is a sad statistic and a sad reality.”
The Parenting Workshops offer parents, caregivers, and guardians the opportunity to better understand the challenges of parenting and empowers them with knowledge and parenting education.