Naa Koshie Lamptey of the Early Childhood Council has said parenting was the act of interventions, behaviors, emotions, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care of a child.
She noted that in parenting, the processes used in promoting and supporting the development and socialization of the child played a critical role in helping the child to survive and thrive.
Naa Koshie Lamptey said this when she delivered a paper on the topic ‘The Role of Parenting in Early Childhood’ at a two-day workshop in Accra, organised by Compassion International Ghana (CIG) a non-governmental organisation for pastors, directors and implementers of some of its selected Frontline Church Partners.
The workshop was to review its Survival and Early Childhood Programme and empower participants to play their roles and responsibilities effectively and efficiently.
It was also to help identify gaps and how best to address them.
Naa Koshie urged parents to nurture their children to attain their fullest potential in life to enable them to become independent and useful members of society.
She intimated that it could be best achieved when the child met a prepared environment and hinted that a lot of efforts were underway to build on the gains made in ensuring that parents were supported to play their parenting roles effectively.
She appealed to all stakeholders to continue to collaborate to give the child the right start in life.
Dr. Genevieve Insaidoo, a pediatrician and Programmes Director, Centre for Pregnancy and Childbirth Education, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital advised mothers to give their children a variety of complementary foods rich in energy, bodybuilding and protection.
She mentioned some of the foods as grains, eggs, fish meat, beans, vegetables and fruits.
Dr. Insaidoo also advised that porridge given to a child should be nutrient-dense and thick enough to stay on the spoon and encouraged them to practice the feeding of their newborn babies solely with breast milk until they reached six months saying, “breast milk is very nutritious for the growth and development of a child.”
The CIG is a Christian faith-based non-governmental organisation that works to release children from poverty.
