National event highlights children’s rights
August 31 every year is observed as National Children’s Day. It is a day set aside to celebrate children and to let them know just how much adults care for them. On such occasions, activities are organised for children, under a selected theme.
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This year’s theme: “Quality Education, Every Child’s Right,” places emphasis on the child’s right to development through education. Education could be broadly categorised into informal and formal, all of which are equally important in the upbringing of the child to ensure his/her total development.
Role of parents and guardians
Parental role in ensuring quality education for the child must begin at home. This is the stage where parents must inculcate certain cultural values in children from their infancy, so they will grow and easily fit into the adult society.
It is at this stage that they should be trained in etiquette such as when to say ‘‘thank you” and “please” to others, especially adults that they may come into contact with. These are very essential in the informal education of children as they help them to develop manners, that make them acceptable wherever they may be.
Another aspect of informal training necessary for the child is to teach him/her personal hygiene. These include brushing the child’s teeth daily until he/she reaches a stage where he/she can do it under supervision, and later without supervision.
The child must also be trained to know he/she should not be rude to adults and colleagues, and know that it pays to be nice to all other persons. It is humiliating to hear someone insult one that one was not well trained by one’s parents.
Importance of cleanliness
Children should also be trained to know the importance of cleanliness and the proper maintenance of their bodies through frequent bathing, at least two times daily. This will enable them to avoid body odour which is usually unacceptable and could create inconvenience to persons that they may come into contact with.
Furthermore, children should be taught how to keep their clothes clean through frequent washing. They must look neat. Additionally, lessons on activities such as cooking, sweeping and polishing their own shoes and those of others should be taught as they grow up. Parents must carefully ensure that all the training is undertaken across the board irrespective of the child’s gender. This is because in most homes, household chores such as cooking and cleaning are often seen to be girls’ job. But such discriminatory practices should be avoided.
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Good example by parents
Parents should avoid such habits as smoking and drinking alcohol in the presence of their children; a habit which if acquired by children may not augur well for their current and future development.
The story was told by a friend who had to abandon a relationship with his girlfriend because of her frequent alcoholic habit. According to the girl, she acquired the habit from her father who gave her sips of alcohol right from her infancy. She found it difficult to quit the habit when she grew up.
Use of indecent language should be avoided as much as possible in the presence of children, just as unnecessary arguments and fights since such acts tend to make them aggressive.
Furthermore, as parents, it is important to monitor the kind of movies that children watch in order to inculcate in them good habits. Some movies that are shown on various television networks are not meant for children and considering the busy schedules of parents, it is important to put mechanisms in place to check what they watch.
Peer pressure
Another important point worth considering is the education of children on their choice of friends. Peer pressure is one important thing to consider on issues regarding child training. It is therefore important that children are allowed to introduce their friends to their parents, for them to know and advise them on where to tread.
The child’s right to education is key to his/her development. Educating a child is like educating a nation, as Dr Aggrey once said about girls. Education is important to every child; it lays the foundation for his/her future and enables him/her to read and write and also understand issues as they emerge.
Children’s education is foundation for any country’s human resource development, and as such it is important that we pay much attention to it and ensure that it is of good quality.
However, the quality would be good only when priority is placed on areas such as human resource development, infrastructure, provision of educational materials as well as the development and implementation of policies that promote children’s welfare among others.
Childhood care and development
It is also important to consider quality education as a child’s right, from the early childhood care and development (ECCD) level, through to tertiary where possible.
The broad goal of the ECCD policy “is to promote the survival, growth and development of all children (from birth to eight years) in Ghana.” Part of the policy objective is the provision of preschool education in collaboration with district assemblies, the private sector, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), NGOs and Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs). The provision also considers fee-free tuition in preschools, training and upgrading of preschool teachers and caregivers. The objectives further give guidelines and standards for service providers to ensure quality ECCD service delivery, and also to provide an accessible and affordable ECCD services for the country.
On this occasion of National Children’s Day, the Department of Children salutes all parents and guardians, and urges them to let their children and wards benefit from their inalienable right to education.
The writer is with the Department of Children, Greater Accra Region
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