Young Nigerians advocate for parenting support and playtime in homes
Parenting programmes and family-friendly policies are proven accelerators for preventing poor learning and poor mental health outcomes.
Family should feel like home – a happy place. An experience of creating bonds and connections between its members that eventually shape their lives. Sadly, for many families in Nigeria, and across the world, this is not the reality. There are families where laughter is seldom heard, where play is not a familiar concept even though it has a significant role in a child’s brain development.
Due to economic pressures, many parents spend long hours at work and extra hours commuting, getting home exhausted. There’s little to zero energy to bond with their children. COVID-19 has also put the mental health and well-being of an entire generation at risk with potential for long-term poor mental health outcomes among children, young people and their parents and caregivers.
And this is why young people in Nigeria are speaking out, and advocating for more support for parents and caregivers, so they can continue to keep their families functioning, and have the time and resources to care for themselves and their children. Through animation, and the beloved Lara and Ali characters, youth advocates supported by UNICEF Nigeria are promoting a call-to-action to support parents and caregivers everywhere.
“Parents play an important role in the overall well-being and development of children,” said Busola Fadipe, UNICEF Nigeria Youth Advocate. “This project was an opportunity to contribute to raising awareness on the need to support parents, so they have the time to care for and play with their children.”
The earliest years of life – when the brain develops at an astounding speed of more than 1 million new neural connections every second – are critical for a child’s development. During this period, the development of cognitive skills, emotional well-being, social competence and sound physical and mental health builds the foundation for a child’s future long-term health, development, learning and earning potential. This is an opportunity that can be derailed by the absence of parental attachment, nurturing caregiving, and playful interactions when the brain is most vulnerable.
“The COVID-19 pandemic makes the need for support to families even more urgent, and this cannot be done unless governments and businesses take concrete action to support parents and caregivers. When parents receive help, children benefit, and families thrive,” said Yetunde Oluwatosin, Early Childhood Development Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria.
Parenting programmes and family-friendly policies are proven accelerators for preventing poor learning and poor mental health outcomes. Parenting programmes help build parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge and skills in child development, promote play and nurturing care giving and support parents’ mental health and well-being. Family-friendly policies give parents and caregivers the time, resources and services parents need to care for their babies and their own mental health.
As Parenting Month wraps up at the end of June, it is important that governments and businesses continue to rally for greater support for all parents and caregivers, through scaling up parenting programmes and family-friendly policies so that parents have the time, resources, and services they need and deserve.
The future we hope to see is one where laughter rings in households and children have the loving, playful, nurturing, safe and supportive relationships they need to thrive, especially in the earliest years of life.
On the global level, the Playful Parenting campaign is supported by UNICEF and the LEGO Foundation.
