skilful parenting as a means of strengthening child protection and psychosocial well-being...
TRANSCRIPT
Skilful Parenting as a means of strengthening child protection and psychosocial well-being
Partnership Between ICS and Firelight on Resilience Initiative Presented at PSS Forum
1-3 September 2015 , Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Outline of presentation • About ICS• Our combined approach • Results and lessons learnt from Implementing Skillful Parenting
Program in Tanzania
Vision , Mission , Strategic programmes Vision
People around the world are capable and willing to
ensure the wellbeing of all children and to
drive their own change.
Mission
Together with people and their communities, we inspire
co-creation of initiatives and ventures which enable
long lasting social and economic change in order to ensure the wellbeing of all children and young people.
More About ICS www.icsafrica.org
The challenges we seek to address • Tolerant attitudes towards corporal punishment, stresses experienced by
parents due to illness, poverty and urbanization and therefore Parents feel overwhelmed to raise their children.
• National budgets continue to increase with higher allocations going to development and social sectors. While these trends are positive, the everyday experiences of poor families need more structured attention
• The cost of living continues to rise, compromising families’ ability to provide for their needs adequately. The wellbeing of children persists as a major challenge amidst generally good macro-economic indicators.
• Low household incomes leading to poverty and other vulnerabilities impact negatively on child wellbeing as livelihoods of families are constrained.
• Food remains a major source of worry and the single greatest category of expenditure at household level.
Challenges • Parenting more often than not equated with reproduction and mere
provisioning for children. Elements that nurture and support children to grow in safety and confidence are often not given the attention family level
• Actors interested in addressing social problems often neglect parenting as a subject that requires attention in their programming.
• Changing family patterns and norms- the parental support and guidance that parents received from extended families in the past is largely unavailable.
Our approach to connected and stable families • Investments in actions that enhance economic empowerment and
popularizing skilful parenting as a crucial ingredient in promoting stable,
connected and responsible families
• In our experience, this innovative combination of interventions addresses
economic situational, social and behavioral risk factors associated with
violence in the family especially violence against women and girls
• Built upon the understanding that change will only take place if people are
convinced of the need for change and of their capacity to change.
The combined approach targets the family institution [1] through harnessing and utilizing family and community knowledge and experiences to challenge status quo and transform individuals to realize that they have the power and capacity to transform their lives positively.
[1] "The ways of peace must be learned early. So as adults, we have an obligation to begin to work with our children to develop that respect for all rights. We must work at home, in schools, in youth clubs and in our religious and community institutions." Graça Machel, Commonwealth Lecture Address, March 13, 2001
An integrated approach
Smallholder farmers, their families and communities (farmer groups)
Wellbeing of families and their children ICS believes in strength of people to
create change in a sustainable manner
Tanzania TanzaniaSocial
Businesses
CBOs/Local NGOs Capacity building towards quality service delivery
Skillful Parenting
Parent support program to help parents to address their challenges, make informed choices and get the support they need to give their children the best possible start in life
Under guidance of a local facilitator, parents and caregivers come together in peer groups for discussion and sharing.
Skilful Parenting Approach: a parent support program that reinforces positive parenting practices, empowering parents to address the challenges that they face in bringing up their children.It is embedded in an Agribusiness program that works with farmer groups on increased food production and household income to mitigate poverty as a cause of stress and conflict.
Under guidance of a local facilitator, parents and caregivers with children age 0-18 come together in peer groups for reflection, discussion and sharing.Context-specific Skillful Parenting materials and certified local facilitators.
The skilful parenting model
STRUCTURED SESSIONS ON SKILLFUL PARENTING TANZANIA
Start-Up Skilful Parenting Sessions Follow-Up
1. Meet with local authorities to introduce ICS
2. Organize public meeting together with Agribusiness Officer and CBO:
• Introduce ICS and Program • Register farmer groups that want
to participate in Program
3. Meet each farmer group to:
• Introduce and motivate parents for the program
• Invite farmers’ spouses• Define starting date and location
of sessions• Register basic data parents
10-12 weekly sessions during 20 weeks Follow-up with parent peer group through Support Group Leaders
•Follow-up with parent peer group through Support Group Leaders •Conduct home visits to most vulnerable families •Organize Fatherhood parleys with fathers of groups and community
5 weeks
Skilful Parenting 5 sessions
Selection of 4 Support Group Leaders during 5th session
4 weeks5 Break for parent group1-day training Support Group
Family Budgeting 3-5 sessions
3-5 weeks
4 weeks
Break for parent group
2 weeks
Child Protection 2 sessions
Continuous community awareness-raising and linkage meetings with authorities
Results and lessons learnt from Implementing Skillful Parenting Program in Tanzania
• Through skilful parenting, there are improved relationships- a functional relationship between spouses and between parents and their children and within the larger extended families,
• Perceptions of men’s position in the family and how they relate with their spouses have changed positively. Men slowly taking an interest in issues that affect their children. Currently, 99 fathers are actively and regularly participating in fatherhood session
• Improved communication and collective planning among household members.
• Child participation in family decision making has increased . • The level of awareness of child rights has improved and parents are
now concerned about their children`s education eg making follow ups in schools to track their children`s progress
Lessons • Poverty is a stressor in the parenting process, and therefore need to
address economic concerns• Increased income does not in all cases guarantee child wellbeing • Extra effort and different strategies required to ensure male/father
involvement• Parent peer groups the preferred approach and the choice of parent
educators/social workers is very critical • This approach also promotes the demand and utilization of social
services such as ECD , education, health, nutrition, birth registration and sanitation.
• The program is build an enabling environment where parents respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights and psychosocial well-being
More information
Kudely Sokoine – Country Coordinator –TZ
Beatrice Ogutu-Program Director, Africa
Tomaida Banda-Regional Consultant
Ahsanten Sana