By Francine Black, Staff ReporterTHE GOVERNMENT and civil society need to provide training and support for parents to assist them with child-rearing and development, said high school students attending yesterday's Gleaner Editors' Forum.
The students from various schools across the island said their parents and society were not meeting their expectations in "providing what we need to succeed."
"I think the issue here is how the primary agent of socialisation, that is the family, has failed teenagers or some teenagers," said Shanna-lee Crawley, a student from Glenmuir High School in Clarendon.
She added that there was a breakdown of communication between children and parents which affect many youngsters later in life.
"We don't even talk to each other," she said.
SINGLE PARENTS UNDER PRESSURE
The students also noted that single parents were especially hard-pressed to meet the everyday pressures of life, adding that the absence of one parent "can sometimes make life very difficult for families."
"Parenting is a balancing act and it takes two to accomplish," said Oneka Davis, a student of Alpha Academy.
However, the students admitted that parents sometimes required their help to lessen the strain.
"It's all about choices. We as young people have to realise that there are positive choices, and we can work towards them," said Corey Martin, a student of Jonathan Grant High.
Andrew Francis, a student of Clarendon College and from a single-parent household, said he is currently organising a boys club to provide mentorship for other students with similar circumstances.
The students called for support groups and training to help parents to cope, especially the young single parents.
"We need to develop a programme to assist parents because sometimes the parents don't know how to socialise with their child or children. We must find and develop ways to assist in this important endeavour," said Janice McDonald from Mona High School.
The students also stressed the need for dialogue between themselves and adults, saying it was essential for their development. "Young people are not only the future, they are present... and so they need to be involved in the decision-making," said Andrew Francis of Clarendon College.
