Three boys found dead again; Are Ghanaian parents responsible?
Audrey Micah, Ghanadot

Accra, Feb 23, Ghanadot - Three boys were on Saturday found dead in one of several abandoned cars at a house at Alogboshie near Achimota in Accra.

The property belongs to an Accra businessman, Samuel Kwame Aguadze, owner of Topman Bookshop at Makola.

The children, who were identified as Gabriel Kofi and Edem Asimenu both two and half years, and Kobby Ananfu, two, had gone missing for about six hours that day. Two weeks ago, the same incidence took place which claimed three lives.

When Ghanadot called Mrs. Juliana Yaa Amponsah of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs to ascertain whether Ghanaian parents have forgotten about good parenting, she said, Ghanaian parents for sometime now have been irresponsible as far as their wards are concerned.

Mrs. Amponsah said good and bad parenting were results of both conscious and unconscious choices and that only parents who had the well being of the children made it their choice to learn beneficial ways and methods in parenting.

“Bad parents do also feel that they can do better and often times, they too want to be loved and adored by their children. Often times, their inability to make the transition in becoming a better parent is because they feel overwhelmed by their personal situations”.

According to her, the rate under which young women got pregnant these days was alarming and that, she said, had contributed to irresponsible parenting as these young women did not have the means to support their children financially and psychologically because they were young and ignorant.

‘Imagine a child growing up in a poorly managed family. I don't mean poor as in destitute but as in poor methods of parenting. Their children will learn to become the parents they so despise. When they are young, they were already being programmed to become the parents they so dislike. Therefore, when they grow up, they too become the clone of their own parents”.

She stated that wa very important for people who were ready to have children to learn ways of ensuring their child’s safety and protection.

Mrs. Amponsah disclosed that another problem was the lack of family planning. To her, some parents give birth to more children than what they could control and as a result left those children to fend for themselves.  She said when that happened these children were exposed to dangers that could be harmful to their lives.

According to her, "parents have their natural right and obligation of care, maintenance and upbringing of their children and every child have the right to be protected and their parents must be there to do that".

She said the ministry was waiting for the police to complete their investigations on the matter after which the ministry would also take charge.

Mrs. Juliana Amponsah reiterated that it was vital for parents to be involved in what their children did especially when they were toddlers, adding that being an involved parent took time and hard work, and it often meant rethinking and rearranging your priorities. It frequently meant sacrificing what you wanted to do for what your child needed you to do - being there mentally as well as physically".

She concluded that parenting was an important part of loving and caring for one's child and that good parenting was about providing a warm, secure home life, helping your child to learn the rules of life and to develop good self-esteem.

"You may have to stop them from doing things they shouldn't be doing, but it is just as important to encourage them to do the things you do want them to do.

She urged parents to be very vigilant around their children so that they would be able to know their whereabouts.

"Parenting takes energy, it's easy to let things slip if you are depressed, tired, very busy or don't have any help with your children. Without rules, children can simply get in to the habit of behaving badly which can sometimes lead to their death as it happening now".

Ghanadot