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Who is a Parent?

Parent

Includes the birth parent, foster or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or any other caregiver having primary and consistent care or custody of a child.

Parenting

Interactions, behaviours, emotions, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care of children.

In the NPSC Act 2012, a parent  “includes the birth parent, putative, foster or adoptive/legal guardian or other person having care or custody of a child.”

“Putative” means “A person believed to be the father of a child…reputed to be the biological father of a given child, but not yet to have been adjudged the father by the court or found to have been married to the child’s mother at the time of conception or birth.” (Bouvier Law)

Parenting Styles

Parents have many different ways of raising their children. Parenting styles are commonly described under four broad headings: Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, and Uninvolved.

Authoritative Parenting

There is a give-and-take atmosphere involved in parent-child communication and both control and support are balanced. Research shows that this style is more beneficial than the too-hard authoritarian style or the too-soft permissive style.

Authoritarian Parenting

Parents are very rigid and strict. They place high demands on the child but are not very responsive to the child. Parents who practice this style of parenting have a rigid set of rules, and expectations are strictly enforced and require rigid obedience.

Permissive Parenting

Parents are undemanding, so there tends to be little if any, punishment, behaviour management, or explicit rules in this style of parenting. Children are generally happy but sometimes show low levels of self-control and self-reliance because they lack structure at home.

Uninvolved Parenting

An uninvolved or neglectful parenting style is when parents are emotionally absent and sometimes even physically absent. They have little or no interaction with the child and regularly have little communication. They are not responsive to a child’s needs and do not demand anything of them in their behavioural expectations. Research generally shows that children who are raised by authoritative parents tend to become more independent, self-reliant and successful academically.

Parents will often find that reading a definition (as above) and actually putting that behaviour into practice, can be challenging. While parents may behave differently at different times, research suggests that authoritative parents everywhere make a point to reason with their children (Robinson et al 1997). When their children misbehave, they talk with them and explain the reasons for the rules.

Prospective Parent

The first goal of The National Parenting Support Policy is: “All Jamaicans make wise choices about becoming parents and make parenting a priority.”

In an effort to achieve this goal, the NPSC works with its partners to reach individuals before they become parents. Prospective parents, male or female of any age, are those that are contemplating parenthood – either as a choice to become pregnant, adopt or foster a child. The NPSC supports initiatives that prepare women and men to become effective parents.

By law, persons under 16 years of age (age of consent) cannot “choose” to become a parent (Child Care and Protection Act, 2004)

Unfortunately, many of our children engage in sexual activity from a very young age, often resulting in early parenthood. For this reason, the NPSC promotes work with parents of students from grades 4 to 13 to provide them with information on sex and sexuality. Such initiatives help equip/strengthen their skills in communicating early with children about sexuality, towards the goal of preventing sexual engagements until the children are mature enough to handle the responsibilities of parenting.

See more about sex and sexuality

On 20 August 2016 in Belize, 4-year old Zyrah Neal laughs as she and her mother, Sherlette Neal, draw at home at their dining room table, in Belmopan, the capital. Zyrah lives in a middle-class neighbourhood with her mother (who is a government employee), her sister and two brothers. She recently completed preschool and has access to electronics, many toys and books. Ms. Neal, a single-parent, raised six other children before Zyrah was born. She explained the difference she sees in her young daughter’s development as a result of two years of preschool and growing up in a protective and enriching environment: “She’s very advanced, she knows what she wants. I’m raising her in a very different environment to the situations my other children were born into; life was at times chaotic and it had an impact. Zyrah’s a fast learning and loves to get involved in so many activities, it’s hard to keep up sometimes but I manage. My favourite thing to do with her is to go to the park and push her on the swings, and seeing how much she enjoys it.” In recent years, considerable progress was made in the area of Early Childhood Development. In 2011 only 32 per cent of children between 36 and 59 months of age attended an Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme, but this reached 55 per cent by 2015. Disparities however persist as only one in five of the poorest children attend ECE, and the Cayo district sees the lowest ECE attendance rate (36 per cent). Further success is contingent upon removing barriers to supply of services, such as sufficient number of qualified professionals and greater integration of the different ECD components. The recent adoption of a national ECD policy demonstrates the Government’s commitment to strengthening ECD services. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), with their national, regional and country partners, promote the use of a range of effective interventions (e.g. Care for Child Development) to help children survive, t

Parental Responsibility

Jamaican culture has traditionally assigned separate but important roles for mothers and for fathers. Mothers are usually expected to be the homemakers and caregivers for the children; fathers are expected to be breadwinners, provide security and discipline.

However, for many Jamaican families, these expectations are changing, by choice or necessity. Mothers and fathers have different innate characteristics, skills, and temperaments, and bring all these to their interactions with their girls and boys.

Many more women are now breadwinners, and many more men are assisting in the home and in nurturing their children. Many local and international research sources indicate that children benefit and thrive when their parents cooperate in their roles and responsibilities.

Nurturance is an element of effective parenting, and infants and children thrive when mothers and fathers provide care, comfort, and expressions of love. Both mothers and fathers are encouraged to maintain not only their physical presence in the lives of their children but to also be emotionally present and ensure a positive relationship exists. Emotionally present parents will help foster their child’s self-awareness of their emotions and build self-confidence as children express their feelings and thoughts.

The NPSC remains committed to furnishing the tools and programme offerings to build on the capacities of mothers and fathers.

  •  When you talk with your child throughout your daily routines, your child learns and develops—emotionally, academically, and socially
  • Get to know each of your children – their likes, dislikes, their temperament, learning styles, behaviour
  • Age-appropriate sites on your smart devices can support your child’s learning; but choose them carefully.
  • Share social events – going to the beach, sporting and cultural events, regular walks, visiting
  • Play together – both outdoor and indoor games
  • Encourage family discussions that involve children in current affairs and debate, as well as in family decisions, rules and expectations.
  • Share your own feelings, encourage children to share their feelings and emotions; listen respectfully
  •  Get to know what your child is learning so you can support them as necessary
  • Educating themselves on the stages of pregnancy, the development of the unborn child and delivery
  • Learning about how children grow and develop over the years—emotionally, physically, psychologically
  • Communicating with each other and with their child from infancy, to build trust, openness and positive relationships.
  • Being positive role models for their sons and daughters
  • Attending to their own physical and mental health
  • Seeking opportunities for learning more about being an effective parent
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Single Parenting

A single parent can be defined as a person raising a child or children without full support from the other parent. The physical absence of the other parent may be due to the ending of a relationship, death, migration, incarceration, substance abuse, mental/ other health issues, or choice.

This presents unique challenges for parents who have the sole responsibility for all aspects of day-to-day care of their children and household. The Statistical Institute of Jamaica, STATIN, indicates that 45.6% of Jamaican households are headed by women. There are many single fathers but they are often not as recognised for their contribution.

Some of the issues faced by single parents that can impact their effectiveness as a parent are:

  • Less opportunity for parents and children to spend time together
  • Effects of continuing conflict between parents
  • Stress factors
    • Trying to balance income earning, child care and housework
    • Trying to be the ‘perfect’ parent
    • Maintaining discipline
    • Having less income sources contributing to family care
    • Providing the basic needs of the children
    • No/limited emotional and social support networks
    • Communicating and sharing parenting responsibilities with the other parent while dwelling separately
  • Children feeling emotionally torn between both parents
  • Unable to focus on personal and professional goals, professional and civic duties
  • No/limited self-care – focusing mostly on the children’s welfare and neglecting themselves
  • Focusing on own emotional and social needs to the neglect of children.

While some single parents share residence with other adult relatives, the responsibility for raising the children usually lies with the parent. Establishing balance and structure within the home can ultimately enable the healthy psychosocial function of the single parent and his/her children.

Single parents require support through a community of positive individuals, groups, and agencies. They must be comfortable and capable of caring for their social-emotional, physical, and spiritual needs in order to execute their responsibilities as a parent.

The NPSC recognises the challenges and the goals of single parents. Through psychosocial interventions, our programmes, and parent sector partners, we seek to build on their strengths and support systems, inclusive of mentorship, to empower single parents to be effective in their roles.

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