18 Mar 2020

Acting chief education officer in the Letlhakeng sub-region, Mr Mokwadi Tese has advised parents to be aware of how they speak to their children.

Addressing a meeting with Standard 7 pupils, parents and teachers at Khudumelapye Primary School on Monday, Mr Tese said being verbally abused was damaging to children, as it gave them the wrong impression about themselves.

He said once children started to believe that their education was not important, they gave up, derailing their thinking and focus and leading to failure and future struggles.

He said the duty of a parent was to ensure that children grew up in a loving environment and were guided to understand the importance of education and life in general.

He said although Standard 7 pupils were intelligent, they did not use that intelligence hence the need for parents to work with teachers to shape better futures for their children.

He said ensuring that children went to school clean, fed and on time remained the duty of a parent, adding that parents must also help children with school work.

Mr Tese said parents who used foul language in the presence of children destroyed their spirit, adding that it was easy to identify children who were going through depression as their performance spoke volumes.

“Any bad words which we use against them have a way of becoming true to them,” he said.

Mr Tese said God’s word cautioned against speaking anyhow as the tongue had the power to give life or take it, to bless or to curse.

He added that parents had to give blessings to their children and to nurture them to be good leaders of tomorrow.

Parents appreciated the meeting and admitted that they have, to some extent, contributed to their children’s poor performance due to the way that they spoke to them.

They said it was important to consider the way one addressed children and accommodate their feelings whenever they interacted with them.

Mr Lenna Ooke said he was thankful for the teachings he received from the meeting and said they would help them to assist their children.

He said it was sad that many parents had a weakness of saying  things that should never be said to children.

Mr Omphemetse Mokgwathi said he was thankful for the advice they got and believed that the teachings had brought changes to every parent.

He urged the education office to consider extending the public awareness to other members of the community so that all could take part in their children’s education.

Mr Inaina Mophato advised parents to be united when rebuking or correcting their children. Ends