ZCZC
BSS-29
CHILDREN-SELF DEFENDANT (UNICEF FEATURE)
Favorable environment to help children grow as self-dependent citizens
DHAKA, Dec 28, 2017 (BSS) – There must be diverse scopes for children to
grow up as self-dependent citizens at every sphere of life as they are the
future leaders to take up the helm of affairs in all disciplines in a society
as well as a country or even beyond.
This is what the experts suggest as there’s no credit in taking own
decisions by depending on others. “No kids come independently out of the
mother’s womb but there must be all available amenities to help a child grow
up as a self-dependent person,” says Khandaker Ibrahim Khaled, Chairman of
the juvenile organization Central Kochi-Kachar Mela.
The first five years of a child’s life is the most important formative
period when his or her personality and character takes shape in an atmosphere
conducive for easy growth. In a sense, Khaled told a recent seminar, a small
kid observes things and thus grows up in a natural environment of learning.
Professor Gouhar Noyeem Wara of Dhaka University said the voice of the
children must be heard giving due importance on their existence both at
family and outer levels. He also called for providing child-friendly training
to the bureaucrats at the very outset of their joining the government
jobs to help them keep the matters of children in minds while
formulating national policies.
“We must think at first of ensuring a secured environment for the safe
growth of a child-be it in villages or in towns,” said Laila Khandaker,
Director, Child Protection, Save the Children. Quoting from a study
of the Bangladesh Shishu Odhikar Forum, she said as many as 264 children
were killed and 501 children raped from January to October in 2017
in Bangladesh.
Khandaker Ibrahim Khaled, also a reputed banker, stressed
especially upon moral education of the children at homes and in primary
schools, which would ultimately remain ever inscribed in their minds to
develop ideals, morale and sense of values when they reach different stages
of life.
The present government under the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has ensured all support to build a modern educated nation as dreamt by
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Prime Minster
gives highest priority on the safe growth of every child in Bangladesh,
advising them to take lessons on patriotism from early life.
Parents, who can’t allow their children to grow up independently might
believe that they are doing the right thing, but actually they are causing
harm to their child, protecting them from the harsh reality of life. There
are parents, who hover over their children when they are toddlers or pre-
schoolers, not allowing them to try new skills, behaviors or beliefs during
their growth.
An experienced mother Ayesha Khanom says, such parents stick closely to their
children as they tend to shield them from being hurt or disappointed. As a
result, she observes, a child can seldom learn to rely on himself or herself
and find ways of dealing with the issues on his/her own.
Some co-dependent parents are unable to let go of their children as they
pass through adolescence and enter young adulthood. From a very early life,
these parents begin unhealthy parenting patterns that slowly take over the
originally healthy parent-child relationship.
Civil rights of the children are probably the least understood matter and
most challenging to realize. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
is the first international human rights instrument to explicitly recognize
civil rights of children.
MORE/UNICEF FEATURE/SAB/ARS/1746 hrs