BARBADIANS ARE BEING URGED to invest in their children because “it is the best investment societies and businesses can make to guarantee their own future success”.
Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Steven Blackett, expressed this view Wednesday while speaking at the launch of Child Month at the Ministry’s headquarters, Warrens Office Complex, St Michael.
“Children are stakeholders of business, as future employers, consumers and leaders…these principles further support the notion that an investment in children produces positive returns for the society as a whole,” he said.
Minister Blackett noted that a nation’s greatness could be judged by the way it treated its children, and so this month would “focus national attention on our children and address the issues that will have some impact on their total development and well-being”.
He also acknowledged that many children were faced with more challenges that result from “growing economies” such as increased inequities, family breakdown, and reduced societal cohesion.
“These challenges impose new responsibilities for the society as a whole to support our children more effectively, bearing this in mind, the Child Care Board will endeavour to place some focus on the role of the family as a stabilising force.”
He said attention would also be placed on parenting as a means of making the world a safer and better place for our children as well as the collective responsibility necessary for child rearing.
While he pointed out that “commendable progress” had been made, the Minister stressed that more work needed to be done to ensure that no child was left behind.
He proposed that as the month of May is used to celebrate our children whom he highly regarded as a precious resource, we must also “work and reinforce the idea that children are everyone’s business”.
He reminded those gathered that Child Month also served to remind us of “our responsibility to ensure that each child is afforded the opportunity to reach his or her full potential, in terms of their survival, development and protection”. (BGIS)
