Letter: Let’s join hands for children to thrive

By Mohamed Saeed

Societal problems such as violence, bullying and vulgarity, among many other social ills, affect more than just adult people.

From the home environment to lack of municipal services, learners and schools often feel the effects that trickle down from social systems and norms.

As prominently noted in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, a child’s development and growth depends not only on what happens at school, but also on socialisation and societal factors and concepts.

Different influences link together and eventually impact every level of a child’s growth.

If left unchecked, these social ills and unpleasant behavioural issues can develop into more serious problems.

To prevent this, we need to break the cycles of domestic violence, drug abuse, poverty, absent parent syndrome, unemployment and homelessness.

Social issues in society are one of the challenges that often get ignored both at home and at schools. Although schools provide interventions and support to learners, parents must work with the school and teachers.

With the correct combination – healthy home environment, encouragement to do good, healthy diet, and teaching of morals, values and ethics – learners can overcome social issues.

For this to happen, parental encouragement and support is essential in every step of a child’s life.

This is especially true during the testing times we now find ourselves in.

Helicopter parenting stunts a child’s emotional and cognitive development.

The Mercury