Make parenting classes a priority

PAREDOS Director Shelia Stuart wants parents who are referred to the Parenting Class by the courts or government agencies to be aware that their attendance is mandatory and urged them to strive to complete their sessions.

She said some parents seem not to know this and therefore commenced the free classes but failed to finish or complete the required number of modules to be able to graduate.

“A large number of persons who come to the Class are referred from the courts. They are also referred from the Probation Department, the Welfare Department [and] the Child Care Board and very often we are asked to provide a report as to whether or not they completed the course. They come to some of the sessions and then they do not return, but when they go back to court and they ask whether they completed the course and they did not complete the course, they then call back PAREDOS to ask when are you offering the next class because we didn’t realise it was mandatory and we want to make up the modules. It is extremely difficult to do that.”

She stressed, “They should complete it because we don’t have the resources to offer them continuously, even though that is something that I would like to see us doing because there is a great demand for the courses.”

Stuart was speaking during Saturday’s graduation ceremony at the Accra Beach and Spa Resort.

She told the audience that for 2018 three Parenting Classes were conducted and a total of 73 people, ages 29 to 45, registered for these sessions. These were held at PAREDOS’ headquarters, the Valley Resource Centre and a specially requested class was at the Hilda Skeene Primary School. She went on to explain that the requirement to graduate was to complete at least eight of the modules taught.

Stuart said out of those registered, “only 25 persons” completed the 10/11 weeks classes. She further said “23 persons” came to some of the sessions and then didn’t return. Meanwhile, “27 of those 73 persons who registered did not participate at all, citing various reasons” such as work, health and economic circumstances.

Stuart especially commended the males for attending and completing the parenting classes.

“More females registered for the courses than males. We had 59 females and 14 males and in terms of the graduating group, the males did better this time because seven of those 14 males, 50 per cent are graduating as oppose to 18 females.”