The influential International Federation of Parenting Education (FIEP), based in Paris, has issued a renewed call for parenting education across the world.
The call comes in response to recent atrocious crimes such as the killing of school children in the USA, the brutal rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi, as well as the shooting and attempted murder by the Taliban of Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan.
“The questions we ask is not only: ‘who raised the young men who perpetrated these atrocious crimes?’ but ‘what social supports were missing from their parents’ lives that could have led them to seek appropriate help for their clearly troubled sons?’
The call for action was co-authored by Mary Crowley OBE, president of FIEP, Dr Catherine Bernard, director of SERFAC in Chennai, India, and Eve Sullivan, founder of the Parents’ Forum in the USA.
“According to a recent poll by CNN, 37% of respondents put responsibility for gun violence on the ‘ways parents raise their children’,” says Dr Bernard. “The same number of people also blame the influence of pop culture.
“Strong and loving parent-child relationships, appropriate engagement of parents in their children's school and social lives and family security all correlate dependably with positive behaviours in young people.
"If societies want to improve parenting, they must examine and improve how they educate and support parents,” the FIEP states.
The call for universal parenting education states:
"On behalf of parents and parenting educators around the world, the International Federation for Parenting Education calls for a new dedication by individuals, non-for-profit organisations, businesses and governments to positive support for all parents.
We renew our own strong commitment to parents and others in parenting roles on whom the children of the world depend. To counteract commercialisation of our lives, commodification of individuals and deep-rooted, pervasive violence in our communities, we must support parents in rebuilding foundations of positive values, thought and action to uphold family life, in diverse forms and across generations. Only by doing this in both policy and practice can we prepare young people for the healthy, happy and productive lives that we all want them to achieve."
You can show your support for the FIEP call to action by signing the petition online at http://www.parentsforum.org/parenting-education-all
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