Families are so precious to the world’s communities that the United Nations has proclaimed international days to remind us of the people closest to us.
The International Day of Families is celebrated each year on May 15 and the Global Day of Parents, on June 1.
In the light of the significance of these days the Advertiser sought some answers from Families SA on what dangers families face.
A family starts with two people in a relationship. To make this relationship work there must be an agreement both accept, as this is way of building trust and respect.
Children under 18 that are part of a family have, according to the Bill of Rights and the Children’s Act, the right to family care and to be protected against maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.
Families SA’s national director, Duki Mothiba, says conflict endangering a relationship between parents and also between parents and children comes from many avenues.
The two more prevalent are financial difficulties and extra-marital affairs, which also cause financial problems.
Many partners do not tell each other the truth about money or their affairs, which brings a lot of anger and mistrust into a relationship and hurt to the children.
“Sit together as a family and talk about your problems. Be honest about what you, as a family, can and cannot afford financially,” she said.
These conversations with your children are also important in a single parent household, even if the parent feels anxious, lonely or doubts their ability as parent.
Mothiba says conflict in a family is natural.
There are several ways of handling it, like denial, avoidance, giving in to keep the peace, blaming others, feelings of ‘you are always right’, feeling that you are too superior to argue, trying to meet someone halfway or caring enough to confront and lovingly look at the situation.
She invited any family in trouble to call the Famsa National Directorate on 011 975 7106/7.
