On one level, I couldn’t agree more. We could certainly all benefit from a few tips on how to bolster our child-rearing skills.
Where we’re missing the mark is failing to address the reasons why even the most dedicated parents are struggling to provide their children with the nurturing and hands-on guidance that is essential to their healthy development and proven to reduce the risk of their involvement in violent behavior down the road.
Imagine how different things might be if, instead of giving parents a bad rap, we viewed it as our communal responsibility to make sure everyone raising children had the time and resources to do it well. I can think of countless measures that could help, such as giving parents some paid time off from work that they could use to meet with a teacher or take a child to a doctor’s visit or counseling appointment. Or, what if more employers offered flexible (or at least predictable) schedules, which would make it easier for working parents to put a reliable childcare plan in place?
With National Parents’ Day coming on July 27, I can’t think of a better way to honor Dajae’s memory and all those we have lost to gun violence than for us to start practicing what we preach about the importance of parental involvement and take the steps necessary to truly make it possible.
Rhonda Present is the founder and director of ParentsWork, an Illinois parents’ organization dedicated to creating more family-supportive communities, schools and workplaces.
Article Appeared @http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/28728320-452/good-parenting-alone-isnt-enough-to-prevent-violence.html#.U-Z4Ck0o5di