How to be a better parent â€" Mama Tendo
MANY have become parents and some are planning to, but how many people ask themselves why they need to become parents and what it takes? Some people say all one needs is a partner and the rest falls in line.
MANY have become parents and some are planning to, but how many people ask themselves why they need to become parents and what it takes? Some people say all one needs is a partner and the rest falls in line.
However, this may not be the case. Unlike the past seminars, the Mama Tendo workshop held at Hotel Equatorial recently, focused on how to make better parents.
Guest speakers equipped parents with skills on how to balance work and family and to handle conflicts in a home. Ruth Ssenyonyi, a counselling psychologist, said the number one goal of parenting was to help the immature child grow from dependence, to an independent, responsible and mature adult. This entails character training and imparting life skills.
She advised parents to instill responsibility, realism, competence, conscience and morality in their children.
Ssenyonyi noted that a child needs to be actively engaged in maturing at all the stages of life. “Every child starts out as a mistrustful, irresponsible, self-centred being — a beginner in character and develops into an independent responsible mature adult,†Senyonyi added.
Parents should also know that character growth is a continuous journey throughout life, so it is never too late to act. She said 50% of a person’s character is developed in the first three years of a child’s life.
Senyonyi said through experience and practice, a parent can guide their child to internalise the aspects that shape personality.
She further noted that if small tasks were repeated in many ways, it would help invest energy in children who have learning problems.
However, in so doing, Senyonyi said, parents must consider the fact that not all children are the same. so parents should identify their children’s temperament.
Maria Baryamujura, one of the country’s most successful single mothers, gave her testimony on her 31-year experience of raising children single-handed.
Baryamujura, who was widowed three years into her marriage in 1976, said motherhood was a task, but a journey worth taking.
She urged parents to be there for their friends and relatives who are single parents because their children need exposure to normal families. Baryamujura said this contributes a lot to who the children become. She noted that despite being single mothers, children need a father figure. She cautioned women on whom they choose as a father figures for their children, saying they should be people of good character.
Dr. Monica Chibita, a lecturer at Makerere University, advised parents to make the right choices for their families and career. She said raising families is a big challenge, especially for the working class because it involves a lot of sacrifice on the side of the spouses.
Chibita said spouses cannot pursue high-paying and demanding careers at the cost of their families because there will be a price to pay. She advised parents to consider their families when making priorities. “If one chooses family over work, they should let the people at work know that they have a family, which cannot be compromised,†she explained.
Docus Inzikuru, Uganda’s fastest female runner and a mother-to-be, also attended the seminar. Inzikuru stunned participants when she said she took part in races until she was three-months pregnant.
Inzikuru shared her life with the participants, saying she had planned to have her first-born seven years into her marriage.
Inzikuru could not hold her smile back when Catherine Ruhweza, the director of Mama Tendo Foundation, gave her a hamper with Mukwano products and another with Johnson and Johnson products.
Family Network’s executive director Stephen Langa, presented a paper on fathers raising children. In his presentation, Langa remarked that children need time with both parents. “Who you are as parent, is more than what you are, since values are caught and not taught,†he said.
Langa said some people blame universities for spoiling their children, yet the children at university reflect the nurturing they received at home.
He urged parents, especially fathers, to play with their children, affirm them, have meals together and share real life experiences.
Ruhweza commended her sponsors; Standard Chattered Bank, The New Vision, Johnson, Johnson among others, for their continued support. She promised to organise two breakfast meetings for fathers next year. The first will be held on fathers day in June to engage men into family matters for the betterment of their families. The other meeting is yet to be confirmed.
However, this may not be the case. Unlike the past seminars, the Mama Tendo workshop held at Hotel Equatorial recently, focused on how to make better parents.
Guest speakers equipped parents with skills on how to balance work and family and to handle conflicts in a home. Ruth Ssenyonyi, a counselling psychologist, said the number one goal of parenting was to help the immature child grow from dependence, to an independent, responsible and mature adult. This entails character training and imparting life skills.
She advised parents to instill responsibility, realism, competence, conscience and morality in their children.
Ssenyonyi noted that a child needs to be actively engaged in maturing at all the stages of life. “Every child starts out as a mistrustful, irresponsible, self-centred being — a beginner in character and develops into an independent responsible mature adult,†Senyonyi added.
Parents should also know that character growth is a continuous journey throughout life, so it is never too late to act. She said 50% of a person’s character is developed in the first three years of a child’s life.
Senyonyi said through experience and practice, a parent can guide their child to internalise the aspects that shape personality.
She further noted that if small tasks were repeated in many ways, it would help invest energy in children who have learning problems.
However, in so doing, Senyonyi said, parents must consider the fact that not all children are the same. so parents should identify their children’s temperament.
Maria Baryamujura, one of the country’s most successful single mothers, gave her testimony on her 31-year experience of raising children single-handed.
Baryamujura, who was widowed three years into her marriage in 1976, said motherhood was a task, but a journey worth taking.
She urged parents to be there for their friends and relatives who are single parents because their children need exposure to normal families. Baryamujura said this contributes a lot to who the children become. She noted that despite being single mothers, children need a father figure. She cautioned women on whom they choose as a father figures for their children, saying they should be people of good character.
Dr. Monica Chibita, a lecturer at Makerere University, advised parents to make the right choices for their families and career. She said raising families is a big challenge, especially for the working class because it involves a lot of sacrifice on the side of the spouses.
Chibita said spouses cannot pursue high-paying and demanding careers at the cost of their families because there will be a price to pay. She advised parents to consider their families when making priorities. “If one chooses family over work, they should let the people at work know that they have a family, which cannot be compromised,†she explained.
Docus Inzikuru, Uganda’s fastest female runner and a mother-to-be, also attended the seminar. Inzikuru stunned participants when she said she took part in races until she was three-months pregnant.
Inzikuru shared her life with the participants, saying she had planned to have her first-born seven years into her marriage.
Inzikuru could not hold her smile back when Catherine Ruhweza, the director of Mama Tendo Foundation, gave her a hamper with Mukwano products and another with Johnson and Johnson products.
Family Network’s executive director Stephen Langa, presented a paper on fathers raising children. In his presentation, Langa remarked that children need time with both parents. “Who you are as parent, is more than what you are, since values are caught and not taught,†he said.
Langa said some people blame universities for spoiling their children, yet the children at university reflect the nurturing they received at home.
He urged parents, especially fathers, to play with their children, affirm them, have meals together and share real life experiences.
Ruhweza commended her sponsors; Standard Chattered Bank, The New Vision, Johnson, Johnson among others, for their continued support. She promised to organise two breakfast meetings for fathers next year. The first will be held on fathers day in June to engage men into family matters for the betterment of their families. The other meeting is yet to be confirmed.