Mothers get training to be better with kids
Fixing the social ills that fester in Belize is only one step on the path to restoring peace on the streets and keeping the youth out of harm’s way. That is why Restore Belize assisted in coordinating parent empowerment training between the Yabra Community Police Center and the Ministry of Human Development. News Five attended the Parenting Empowerment Program Graduation Ceremony this afternoon in which sixteen women received certificates that honored them for completing the course.
Nelma Marie Mortis, Program Officer, Restore Belize
“The aim or objective of the program is to try and meet parents halfway in terms of what to expect in the development of their children and psychosocial issues that they might have challenges with. It covers a wide range of topics and themes that they sat the courses with trained facilitators; with people who have been there, working on the ground for six weeks. And so today that ends and so we are giving these sixteen parents some kind of appreciation and certification for having participated in the program.”
Sonia Myvette, Parent
Sonia Myvette
“I am blessed with six children and six grandchildren.”
Jose Sanchez
“What particularly stood out to you in the training?”
Sonia Myvette
“Well the particular topic that stick out for me is how to do with our teenagers.”
Jose Sanchez
“Now your children are all adults. Does it help you now with your adult children as well as your grandchildren?”
Sonia Myvette
“Well I will more use this training for the grandchildren.”
Jose Sanchez
“In particular what do you think you will be able to use at home with them?”
Sonia Myvette
“To sit and listen to them more because many a time, we are too busy to listen to our children. So I want to put that to put that in practice to sit and listen to the children because they have so much to share too. What stood out to me too is that there are still nice people living around our community. It was a pleasure to work with all these ladies.”
Jose Sanchez
“And you would find that there is a common element affecting families across?”
Sonia Myvette
“Yes many, many common elements.”
Jose Sanchez
“Any particular you recall?”
Sonia Myvette
“Neglect of children. Parents are really neglecting their child; that’s one.”
Jose Sanchez
“What did you learn from this training that you intend to take back home with you?”
Nicole Wade
Nicole Wade, Parent
“I learn from the program because I dah wah teenage mother with two pickney. I learn from the program how fi deal with my pickni—no fi lash my son because sometimes he dah wah stubborn person. I learn how fi talk to ahn and try give ahn timeout and things like that I learn from the program.”
Jose Sanchez
“So they are essentially telling you that if they learn violence, they will practice it also?”
Nicole Wade
“If I abuse my son, he wah grow up abusive and right now ih come pan the street and be a violent person.”
Jose Sanchez
“Now you have siblings right? Do you think there is anything you can use with your brothers and sisters from the program?”
Nicole Wade
“From the program, ih teach me how sometimes, my sister and I can relate to them. I can ask them about their life and things weh dehn di go through from school and betta now. I can talk to them.”
Jose Sanchez
Nelma Marie Mortis
“The area has a lot of at risk youths, were the skills and discussions geared particularly at how to keep these youths safe?”
Nelma Marie Mortis
“First of all we had to deal with the parents themselves in terms of their person social development, self esteem and self confidence. It begins from there and having a knowledge of that helps them to then identify. Get them emotionally settled and then help them with topics such as those same topics—adolescence, development of children, discipline, the rights of the child, so much on the table, family planning. It was like almost thirty topics/themes that they covered.”
I am glad to see us doing something to help people improve their parental skills even if I disagree with some of what I hear. Again, I will ask if our people are being used in a social experiment. I am not buying into the assumption that corporal punishment teaches our children violence, maybe if these worthless kids terrorizing our streets feared something or someone, our folks would not be peaking out from behind burglar bars & pretending they do not see when the murdering little effers tear up their neighborhoods.
Mr barrow….Belize constitutes of more than just southside….why U wasting good money and just watch iy go down the drain?? are there not other areas in the country that need sone assistance also??U are prime minister for the country, not just southside …people there are the way they are by CHOICE
@Sugar, let’s not paint the whole south side of Belize City as a cesspool. Most south side residents are hard working, law abiding citizens & live there because they have nowhere else to go. In many cases, families have lived there for generations & despite what we think we see most Belizeans still have that strong generational connection. Many of the children on the south side still do the same thing I & many others did more than a generation ago, stop by our grandparents on the way home or live in the same yard.
The people living on the south side of Belize City come from every part of the country & it is to your & all of our advantage that we keep them there & clean up the mess because the courts have proven to be consistently worthless, the only other option is to send our unruly kin to the villages where we have relatives & none of us like that idea.