By Prior Beharry
THERE is a parenting crisis in Trinidad and Tobago.
This according to Minister of Social Development and Family Services speaking at the launch of the 2023 Parenting Workshops at the Belmont Community Centre.
She said, “There is a parental crisis in our country at the moment.”
Cox said, “In some cases, the leaders of the gangs become the surrogate fathers, and the tablets and phones the surrogate mothers.”
She said many parents have abdicated their responsibility to instill in their children the value system that will prevent them from going astray.
Cox said, “There is no doubt that the days of the extended family are over. Some families do not have the benefit of children being left in the care of grandparents, because their grandparents are found amongst the actively employed and many are much younger.”
She said, “I am often amazed at the reaction of many parents when, for legitimate reasons, the school system might have to be shut down for a day. The collective cry then is ‘so what am I to do with my children… who will take care of them.’
“In a situation where all of us are longing to belong to something or someone, it is not a difficult leap to see why so many of our young people are now falling prey to lives of destruction, occasioned by their surrogate parents; the gang leaders or the tablets and phones.”
