#ARYBLOG: Importance of a Support System for Parents

It is said that a good parent can influence human development, but good parenting can influence seven generations.

Being a parent is not only a combination of responsibilities, but also a full-time job. Being a parent can be the most rewarding and the hardest.

Parents encounter several problems regarding the education of their children, the provision of essential goods, the hard work to provide quality of life and training for the future.

Parenting has drastically changed since its origin, in fact parenting is an emerging science in the world of today where every single day there is a new way, we get to learn about raising children well.

Prior to the 19th century, parental responsibilities consisted of disciplining, sharing a routine and instructions, and taking the lives of their children into their own hands.

Early in the 21st century, parenting practices began to transform. With increasing technology and human social connections, the needs of children have shifted and become more demanding. Parents experience a wide range of stress factors that meet the needs of this generation.

There are several studies that highlight the stressors of parenting which include advances and development in the global world, the changing economic times and younger generations getting exposed to hi-tech resources.

In most studies, parents report that their children possess more leading-edge knowledge and skills than ever before. Parents also feel a strong need to reach out to their social circle to help them understand the new ways and strategies of raising their children.

In addition, in many studies, parents mentioned the need for and importance of having peer education groups. During COVID-19, various social media groups were observed to have multiple parenting commitments.

Providing evidence-based interventions for parenting is critically important. Going forward, times will be more difficult and demanding, and there is a serious need to examine how parents can be supported.

In this evolving world, the art of being an efficient parent can no longer come naturally in most scenarios, it must be learned. Parents today require various social and technical support to understand the growing needs of their children and how they can best navigate a nurturing journey for their kids to thrive in the current times and become well prepared for future endeavors.

In some studies, researchers and policy makers underline the need for systems strengthening initiatives to specifically support parents of very young children and adolescents.

Preparing parents to care for their children requires us to establish systems that support parents. This can be done in several ways:

• Include parental education in healthcare facilities through social clinics. Provide early parental education, e.g., prenatal classes, postnatal classes, and teen parent education clinics. Hospitals can become hubs for parental education.
• Conduct regular parental education sessions at schools. General one’s catering to best practices and customized counseling support to address child specific problems
• Design policies to support working parents, i.e., childcare, home caretake, rehabilitation, etc.
• Develop leave policies for parents to support their involvement when their children are ill or must attend parent-teacher meetings, etc.
• Provide financial aids to the parents from resource constraint settings to meet the basic needs of their children
• Involve parents in social support groups to help them learn directly from other parents. Studies show that peer support groups go a long way in improving parenting practices.
• Partners to use social media and influencers for parenting training and innovative solutions.
• Set up a help line and clinics for the mental health and well-being of parents. Parents are often neglected in their children’s upbringing and suffer from a variety of mental health problems that require immediate, short-term, and long-term support.
• Finally, judge no parent or their parenting style.

It says you need a community to raise a child, so multi-sectoral approaches to parenting can provide long-term benefits. On World Parents Day, pledge your support for a parent in need and thank them for taking a care of our future generations.