Children’s protection in the spotlight
Kata Day Care held a child protection awareness campaign on its premises in Katlehong on Monday, May 29.
The event was organised in line with Child Protection Week, which started on June 1.
Mphihiseng Lephoko, the social auxiliary worker at Kata Day Care, said the purpose of the event was to discuss topics that affect children, including violence, kidnapping, child trafficking, rape, killing and poverty.
“We brought together different stakeholders from the community to discuss and come up with solutions to prevent violence against women and children.
“We are also networking in terms of referring children who are affected by any of these social factors to relevant stakeholders so that they can get help,” said Lephoko.
She said her duties include offering basic counselling, organising support groups for the affected children and organising awareness campaigns.
Katlehong police station’s commander Brig. Phumla Mdlankomo was also there on the day.
Speaking to the parents in attendance, Mdlankomo said they must show their children love.
“If you don’t love your child enough, he or she will end up looking for love from strangers. And those strangers will give wrong information to your children. Or else they will find a ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ out there to replace you,” said Mdlankomo.
She said parents must respect themselves in front of their children.
“Parents must stop doing things that will make a wrong impression on their children. You are their role models. If you do bad things, your child will copy you, thinking that it is the right thing,” she said.
Mdlankomo also talked about parent’s behaviour at home.
“Using substances like alcohol and drugs in front of your child will have a negative effect on your child’s upbringing,” said Mdlankomo.
She spoke about children’s emotional intelligence.
“You must know how your child is performing in all their activities. It might be in sport or schoolwork. If there is a drop in performance, you must find out why. It might be the result of abuse that you are not aware of,” Mdlankomo said.
Communications official at Katlehong police station Capt Mega Ndobe warned parents to always know their children’s whereabouts.
“You might think that your child is still out playing but meanwhile he or she could have been kidnapped.
“Teach your children to be afraid of strangers and not to open doors to strangers if they are alone at home,” said Ndobe.
He said children must be free to talk to their parents about anything.
Capt Thembi Mthethwa, a social worker at Katlehong police station, said parents must not leave their daughters with their stepfathers because they might end up being victims of rape.
“If you are aware of any abuse or illegal act done to your children by their stepfather, you must report it in it.
“If a taxi stops in front of you and there are only men inside, don’t climb inside,” Mthethwa added.
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