Poor parenting in Jamaica is now a crisis, according to experts in attendance at a Gleaner Editors' Forum yesterday.

According to them, parenting is facing a national dilemma that is being fuelled by watered down values and a continued failure to plan for children.

Psychologist Dr Leahcim Semaj told the forum, held at the newspaper's North Street, central Kingston offices, that parenting was facing a meltdown.

"In Jamaica, a lot of persons go straight from childhood to parenting," he said, noting that more than three-quarters of children in the country are born to couples who will not have a long-term relationship.

"Many Jamaican children don't even know their puppa (father)," he added, also noting the continued absence of the father's name from the children's birth certificates.

He said people who take on parenting responsibi-lities in many cases cannot provide for themselves, let alone a child.

"Our society is just totally short of what is required for parenting," he said. "Just because a fertile man and a fertile woman get together and breed, that don't make you a parent!" he exclaimed.

Parent Joy Crawford agreed with Semaj on the state of parenting in Jamaica, but reflected her view in a mildly different way.

She argued that there was not enough support for parents who do not have prior knowledge of how to raise children.

"We must start by helping parents to understand self, help them to grow and the children will benefit," she said.

"Parenting is about moving children towards pro-social activities and to a large extent media in Jamaica supports antisocial behaviour in Jamaica," commented Semaj.

"What parents had to compete with 20 or 30 years ago, the average parent cannot compete with what the media influence is now," he continued.

Psychologist and sociologist Jaslin Salmon chimed in that, to counter the problem, parents need to be empowered to deal with the new situation.

"What we need to do is support our parents to survive and parent well despite all of this," he told the forum.

He said parents need help to make the transition from old negative practices to new practices that reinforce positive values.

"It is not beyond us to change and to grow," adds Crawford.