'Parents must cater for upkeep of children'

Published in the Daily Graphic on 25/02/2010, pg 11

Story: Matilda Attram

IT is the responsibility of parents to cater for the development and upkeep of their children to enable them to contribute to the development of the nation, the Minister designate for the Employment and Social Welfare Ministry, Mr E. T. Mensah, has stated.
He said this could be done through discipline at the time and period of children’s development.
“It is important to discipline our children and spend time with them teaching them what they need to know to help them become responsible in future,” he said.
Mr Mensah was speaking at a thanksgiving service organised by the Wesley Methodist Cathedral Church in Accra to climax its 2010 children’s week celebration.
It was on the theme: “The Bible, The Child and Money World”.
The celebration, known as ‘Children’s Day’, is to inspire children to exhibit their talents, as well as promote the activities of children in the society.
Mr Mensah stated that although the development and upkeep of children were the sole responsibility of parents, other members of society such as teachers also played important roles in disciplining children.
He called on parents to partner teachers to discipline their children rather than becoming upset with teachers when they tried to put the children on the right path.
Mr Mensah also appealed to parents to keep their children away from uneducative media programmes while advising the children to take their studies seriously.
The Board Chairman of Prudential Bank Limited, Mr John Saka Addo, said parents must discipline and teach their children the importance of reading the Bible.
He said the reading of the Bible contributed immensely to the process of discipline, since it taught them how to relate to one other in society.
“It teaches parents how they should relate to their children, the same way as how children should relate to the elderly”. Siting Ephesians 6: 1-4 which he said placed emphasis on this.
He advised parents to discipline their children with love and teach them the habit of cultivating the habit of saving for future use.
“Brethren it is well noted that all of us are found in a world where money is valued. In discharging our responsibilities let us not teach children the love for excessive money but to work hard to earn that for their upkeep, ” Mr Addo said.
In his sermon, the Circuit Minister for the Wesley Methodist Cathedral Church, Accra, Rev Ishmael Ofori Quaye, encouraged parents to inculcate in their children the need to speak the truth and be faithful to God.