18 Mar 2021

 Mr Mogakolodi Koolopile, a social worker at Makwate village, says failure to co-parent affects children emotionally.

Speaking in an interview with BOPA recently, Mr Koolopile said parents should be aware that whenever they fail to co-parent amicably, children were the most affected.

He further explained that separate parents have a tendency to fight their battles using children, which is a form of abuse as children do not have time to enjoy both parents’ attention and are always caught in the crossfire.

According to Koolopile, such children would then seek comfort from their peers and may end up copying bad behaviour.

He said the other form of abuse is where some children are denied the right to know their other parents, where the other parent will only be supporting the child financially, but excluded from other portions of the child’s life and not even captured in the birth certificate.

Meanwhile, Mr Koolopile said children always copy the behaviour of those who raise them, thinking it is normal.

He also advised parents to use corporal punishment sparingly, adding that most abused children are sent to social workers by teachers, not their parents, because teachers spend more time with children and can tell when they are emotionally unwell.

Mr Koolopile also stated that children, especially young girls, are sexually abused and parents do not report the cases because perpetrators support the families.

He said social workers always provide counselling to the victims, and where possible, they change the environment. ENDS