Bryanston preschool opens discussion on GBV with parents for the 16 Days of Activism
BRYANSTON – The aim of the discussion was to equip parents with the appropriate tools to educate and warn their children on various types of abuse without the use of fear and intimidation which is often seen in the authoritarian parenting style.
Little Ashford Preschool in Bryanston began their 16 Days of Activism on November 25 with a discussion targeted at parents on how to appropriately address gender-based violence with their children, nieces and nephews.
Principal of Little Ashford Preschool, Christine Smith, invited the spokesperson of the Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) organisation, Ngaa Murombedzi to talk with the parents of the learners. The aim of the discussion was to equip parents with the appropriate tools to educate and warn their children on various types of abuse without the use of fear and intimidation which is often seen in the authoritarian parenting style.
“Be able to engage with your child without reprimanding them and be open to questions from your child. We are now in a space where we are questioning everything and we have to encourage our children to do the same. Children are in tune with how they feel but may not have the vocabulary, that’s where we [parents] need to come in,” said Murombedzi.
WMACA focuses on eradicating child abuse with awareness and the provision of resources to support the victims. Murombedzi began her segment with an ice-breaker where she threw a small ball to each parent. Parents who were in possession of the ball were given the opportunity to define gender-based violence in their own words and how it affects them. The activity proved to be a success as the majority of parents began to touch on topics affecting gender-based violence: forced gender roles at an early age, faults within parenting styles, generational scars and healing, avoidance of serious conversations with children and many more.
Photo: Motlatsi Mailula
Moloko Masangane, one of the parents, highlighted a fault that parents often have when talking to their children on serious issues.
“The first thing that comes to mind within most parents is fear. Parents have that mentality of ‘I don’t want it to happen to me and my children’, so the first thing that comes into mind is ‘don’t do that’ and add consequences as a form of fear. The more you tell someone don’t do this, the more they will because of curiosity. Parents need to have an open dialogue with their children and focus on the ‘why’.”
