Bookself Mojatu.com Mojatu Nottingham Magazine M028 | Page 18

mojatu .com 18 Community THE POWER OF PARENTING: HOW FAMILY BONDS CAN PREVENT VIOLENCE By Cassidy Parker In a little South African town, positive parenting programmes are changing a whole community. Comprising just 800 families, Touwsranten in South Africa’s Western Cape province is the only place in the world in which every programme included in the Parenting for Lifelong Health initiative has been implemented. Collaboratively developed by the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and a number of universities in South Africa and the United Kingdom, the programmes aim to prevent violence by equipping parents with the tools necessary to form close and loving bonds with their children. ‘Over the years, we realised that the behaviour that we were teaching children in the after-school programme wasn’t being reinforced at home,’ says Wilmi Dippenaar, director of Seven Passes. ‘The violent behaviour the children were displaying – the way they screamed and swore at each other – was behaviour they were seeing elsewhere.’ Extensive research has shown that children who grow up in a non-violent environment with positive emotional engagement and cognitive stimulation are more likely to succeed at school, find stable employment and form healthy adult relationships. They’re also less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, abuse alcohol and other substances, engage in risky sexual behaviour or become involved in crime and violence. In 2012, the first of several community-wide parenting surveys was conducted by Chandré Gould, senior research fellow at the Institute for Security Studies, and Catherine Ward, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cape Town. Seven Passes’ parenting initiative includes four programmes: one for new parents, from 36 weeks of pregnancy to six months after birth; one for parents and caregivers of two- to nine-year-olds; one for the parents and caregivers of teenagers; and a book- sharing programme. The programmes run once a week for two to three months at a time and are open to any interested parents in and around Touwsranten. Children who grow up in a non-violent environment are less likely to become involved in crime The parenting initiative was born out of Seven Passes’ after- school programme, which since 2007 has provided the town’s children with a safe and supportive environment in which to complete their homework every day. The survey found that spanking, slapping, stress, parental mental health and intimate partner violence in Touwsranten affected children’s behaviour. This was evident in their experiences of anxiety and depression, and often manifested as aggression and violence. As a result, the parenting initiative kicked off, striving to eliminate violence in the home. ‘Most of the people in the community believe in corporal punishment,’ says parenting facilitator Roslynn Wehr-Damons. ‘That’s a big part of what we’re trying to change.’ The programmes encourage parents to spend quality time with their children, to praise them for positive behaviour, to involve them in decision making, to use cool-down strategies when tempers flare, to communicate effectively, and to make sure children feel as though their emotions are valid. Melissa Fisher had been struggling with her 10-year- old son Cullin when Seven Passes’ parenting facilitators came door to door offering assistance. ‘I was yelling and screaming at him all the time,’ she recalls, ‘and I realised I needed help.’ 'It was like having a weapon that I didn't know how to use,' says Melissa. 'And they trained me how to use this weapon that I have. It was amazing. It gave me a sense of purpose. It taught me how to handle things in a positive way.'