Parenting
For every child, a safe, loving and caring family
Context
Parenting is hard. It requires time, patience and skill. It requires nurturing care and love.
These essential ingredients can be hard to find in a fast-paced, global world – a world where the demands of parenting compete with the financial demands of providing for a family.
At some point, nearly all parents need support so they can give their children the best start in life, and so they can remain engaged as their babies grow into adolescents and young adults.
Parenting is also fundamental. Nutrition, stimulation and nurturing care are foundation that allow children to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
Challenges
Maldives faces a number of challenges that put stress on parents and caregivers.
Family structures are shifting. For some, the shift is driven by migration from small remote islands into cities, which can separate children and caregivers and deprive parents of the support of extended families. For others, housing shortages squeeze families into small, overcrowded urban spaces that instigate tensions.
Parents struggle with understanding and engaging with their children as they mature in a digital, global and changing world. They need knowledge and skills to support their parenting needs, but they have nowhere to seek this support from.
With the changing economic situations, both parents need to work, sometimes multiple jobs, adding to the struggle of finding time to instill healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits.
Far too often, these stresses are not acknowledged. In many homes, the fundamentals of positive parenting are not discussed.
UNICEF in action
Promoting positive parenting is a major priority for UNICEF Maldives – and a strategy for providing children with the foundation they need to fulfil their potential – for their future and the future of Maldives.
The core of the effort is Beleniveriyaa, a positive parenting initiative started in collaboration with the Government of Maldives. The initiative is led by a committee that includes representatives from sectors including education, health, police, religious leaders and juvenile justice and unifies messaging about parenting.
The goal is to change attitudes and behaviours about parenting and to standardize and streamline existing parenting programmes. It is achieved by training social service providers with the mandate of engaging with parents, with a standardized toolkit, to use as they encounter and counsel parents and caregivers.
The content is rooted in Maldivian culture and context and highlights the importance of communication, building healthy relationships and the role of fathers in child development.
