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THE NST Leader, in May, had advocated for parental guidance as a constant to monitor children, especially in today’s cyber world.

The trigger then was the 16-year-old girl who committed suicide after a poll on her Instagram showed that her “friends” were in favour of it.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said a “diversion programme” to address social ills among children would be implemented next month — an alternative approach to handle child offenders without them having to go through the justice system.

Details are not yet forthcoming, but narratives available say “diversion” refers to a range of practices to divert an accused child away from formal court procedures and towards a more constructive and positive solution

Based on principles of restorative justice, it “requires offenders to accept responsibility for the crime, make amends for their misdeeds, and hence, initiate a healing process for themselves, their families, the victims and the community”.

The objective — give a child offender a second chance through diversion or intervention. Among the benefits are it is a more appropriate and constructive response than confinement, and a more productive way of addressing and preventing future delinquency.

Studies have shown that diversion is less costly and can promote community engagement and social cohesion.

Diversion is not uncommon. In the United States and the United Kingdom, diversion is not limited to children. In Atlanta, Georgia, in 2011, a single mother who was charged with felony theft underwent pretrial intervention, or “diversion”.

After 12 weeks of classes and 24 hours of community service, her case was dismissed and criminal record expunged. She could start life anew. It was a big break for her. In England and Wales, diversion from formal criminal proceedings in the youth court is usually only available if an admission to an offence is made.

This proactive step by the government focuses on caring for, nurturing and rehabilitating troubled youths. It may just be the panacea to help them. However, diversion is for children who have committed a crime. How do we prevent those who have not? Children are the responsibility of adults.

If not parents, then their guardians. A child cannot be left to fend for himself. It is an obligation on adults under whatever system of order a community subscribes to. Diversion, therefore, should not be seen as the whole solution to the problem of juvenile delinquency.

A crime, no matter how small, is still a crime. There is still need for some form of punishment. At the heart of it are delinquent parents or guardians.

Parents or guardians must always be held liable. Parental guidance means participation and interest in a child’s life. A family should be “talkative”. Aloof is not commendable parenting. Children can be reasoned with. For instance, reading the right literature is basic to growing a thinking family.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/leaders/2019/07/500722/nst-leader-new-dimension-parental-responsibility

WITHIN many social areas, it is believed, with justified conviction, that parents are the first and main educators of their children.

Today, it seems that this is neither evident in theory nor in practice among parents and public authorities.

The rights of parents to educate their children are essential because it is they who have brought them into this world.

Moreover, children depend on their parents not only for sustenance and physical care, but also the acquisition of early habits of personal autonomy, which takes place within the intimacy of the family.

The role played by parents in the emotional development of a child in his or her early years is fundamental. Furthermore, emotional deprivation is one of the key causes of failure in school.

The right and duty of parents are primordial and original in respect to other people and institutions that are involved in education. For having brought them here, parents have the natural duty to educate them and this duty should be recognised by all.

Moreover, the right to education and the duty of educating are irreplaceable and inalienable.

Schools are collaborative entities that provide education but they can never substitute parents in this responsibility.

There is no rational sense to commentaries made by parents, such as: “I don’t know how to educate my children; I was not taught to do this; and could schools teach them instead?”.

Parents cannot delegate the duty to educate their children to others because the role of the family is irreplaceable.

Throughout history, there have been attempts by totalitarian states to separate children from their families by making the state responsible for the education of children.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/11/430920/rights-and-responsibilities-parents-educators

KANGAR: The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) wants the Education Ministry (MOE) to immediately implement a code of ethics for parents to protect teachers as well as to maintain harmonious relationship between both parties.

Its president Kamarozaman Abd Razak said the code of ethics for parents would also ensure that the teachers’ dignity and emotion would not be adversely affected by the stress caused by parents’ displeasure on things they were dissatisfied with.

“NUTP submitted a proposal to MOE a year ago but until now there was no development. Therefore, we have to take proactive action similar as the ones implemented by developed countries, and not scrambling to address the issue only after a mishap occurred,” he said.

He said this when met by reporters after the launch of CDERT-NUTP and the conferment of the rank of affiliate officers of CDERT (Civil Defence Response Team)-NUTP by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim here last night.

Kamarozman said the NUTP would take proactive action by obtaining feedback from parents, non-governmental organisations and to discuss the code of ethics with lawyers before submitting the proposal to MOE.

“A majority of cases involving parents attacking teachers occurred in the urban area. Although the numbers have yet to reach alarming level, they still affected the teachers and if not contained, it can spread to wider areas and ultimately causing discord between teachers and parents,” he said.

On the upcoming 2018 Budget, he appealed to the government to increase the allocation for schools, as many of them, especially in rural areas are mainly of old buildings, the majority are more than 20 or 30 years old, and they need to be immediately maintained or repaired to ensure the safety of students and teachers.

“In efforts to implement the transformation and to create quality human capital, education is very important,” he said, adding that the RM600 million allocation for the maintenance of 10,600 schools nationwide, tabled in the 2017 Budget, was inadequate.

BERNAMA.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/288118/code-ethics-parents-need-be-implemented-soon-nutp

WE all think we know our children really well. That may have been the case when they were much younger and spent time exclusively with us. We fed and clothed them, and we were always there when they needed us. But as our children grow older, they begin to socialise with others their age.

Three of my children are in college so, in a way, we have “lost” that exclusivity with our kids. They now have other influencers in their lives — their friends. So, what should we do when it comes to our children’s friends?

Protective but not nosy.

While it’s important to protect our kids when they are out with friends, being too close and involved will make everyone uncomfortable. In other words, being nosy may even drive the friends away. There are many ways to get to know their friends better.

Interrogating them will just put you in a bad light in the eyes of your children and their friends (this is especially true for teenage friends). We must respect their privacy and show that we trust them. Always remind them that the trust is not a privilege but something to be earned and valued. Once broken, things will not be the same.

Set Boundaries.

Once trust is in place, we can establish boundaries. If they are a group of younger children, this is akin to supervision when there is a get-together. Make them comfortable with the presence of trusted adults.

Things are a little trickier when they are older and more independent. They want to hang out at a place further from home, for example, in a mall. That’s good for their social life but I know of some parents who discreetly follow their children wherever they go. Again, this shows a lack of trust.

A better strategy is to establish clear boundaries of do’s and don’ts. For example, let them inform you who their friends are. Ideally you’d have met them at least once. Remind them about appropriate behaviours between genders, and most importantly, agree on a safe and reasonable hour for an outing.

Invite them over:

Perhaps the best way to combine all the above is to invite their friends over for get-togethers. There are plenty of opportunities to do this — birthdays or open houses are some good examples. But the truth is, we don’t have to wait for special occasions.

Our family organised a “post-exam” party. The objective was to get our children’s friends over and get to know them better in a happy, informal setting. It works both ways — their friends also get to know us, and hopefully respect and mutual understanding are established along the way.

by Zaid Mohamad.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/pulse/2017/07/257578/smart-parentingknow-your-childrens-friends

IPOH: Parents who are no longer able to look after their children should send them to Welfare Department-registered welfare homes, said Wanita MCA chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie.

Heng said that parents should never neglect the welfare of their children, adding that it would be safer if a child was cared for in a registered home.

“Parents could also call MCA’s Legal Advisory and Women Aid centre to help get their unwanted child adopted. There are many couples that are unable to have children who are willing to adopt,” she told reporters during a feng shui talk at Wisma MCA Perak here on Sunday.

Heng said that there are alternatives to abandoning children.

“Malaysians are a caring society. Whenever there’s a disaster, they are always ready to spring into action,” she added.

Heng was asked to comment about a three-year-old boy who was found naked and crying alone in a house in Tampin, Negri Sembilan on Friday.

The mother, who was unemployed, is believed to have left him there alone while she went out to look after her mentally-ill mother and stepmother who was injured in a road accident.

The police have since remanded the mother for investigations.

Asked about stateless children, Heng said that those who plan to leave their children at welfare homes, temples or other institutions should leave them with the necessary documents for them to obtain citizenship.

by IVAN LOH.

Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/01/08/heng-parents-welfare-homes/