Baker

If nothing else comes out of the stories that have been appearing in the press about the abduction, disappearance, neglect and abuse of our children over these last few months, it will be a wider dissemination of information about the agencies set up to deal with the welfare and rights of children in Jamaica.

Among these is the Office of the Children's Advocate. Still not sufficiently understood (recall the kind of questioning the current officeholder endured at the Armadale enquiry), still lacking the resources to do the job. But the Office exists. It provides a focal point around which persons concerned about the status of children can mobilise. And there have been many voices raised in recent times in defence of our children.

parents tagged

In the meantime, who is listening to or advocating for parents? It seems that almost every time an issue relating to the misconduct, neglect or abuse of a child comes to public attention, it is the parents who are tagged as the cause of the problem.

We all know that when a child goes home from school with a letter or message indicating that the teacher wants to meet his or her parents, their immediate question is "what have you done now?" Very few parents expect to be called in when their child is doing well. Even fewer parents have been visited at home by a guidance counsellor or other school representative wanting to understand the factors affecting the parent's ability to support the child's performance at school.

When last have you seen a parent, especially one who comes from an inner city or rural background, being commended for doing well by their child? When last has the press carried a photograph of a parent standing proudly beside a child who has won a scholarship or some other award? A cursory examination of the publicity surrounding the recent GSAT results yielded two photographs of parents and a handful of references to the role parents played in their children's success. Ironically, even the story of the mother who withheld the news of the death of her son's father in order to keep him focused for his exam remains nameless and invisible. The photograph accompanying the story is that of the student and his teacher.

A newspaper story recently highlighted how her student's success in winning the Outstanding Child Researcher for 2009 award at the recently concluded UWI/UNICEF Child Rights Conference has made a Dunoon Technical teacher reconsider her decision to leave the classroom. I, for one, do not begrudge the teacher her renewed sense of hope, nor her proud appearance beside her student. But I know that even if funds had allowed it, Chantel Smith's parents or caregivers would not have been invited to hear her make the presentation which won her this year's prize. Should we assume that they played no role in her success? Or is it that if they did they were just doing what they should be doing and deserve no commendation? But the same could be said of Chantel's teacher, yet we are treated to her story.

University of Colorado sociologist, Jay Coakley, in a 2006 article comments that "the moral worth of parents now seems to be determined by the behaviour of their children." He identifies "a conservative emphasis on traditional family values and ... a neo-liberal emphasis on individualism" as contributing to the expectation that biological parents should be held accountable for everything their child does "24/7".

environmental impact

A similar perspective exists here in Jamaica. This perspective effectively rejects the evidence about the impact of the larger environment, especially on the adolescent child. By so doing, it also lets the rest of us "off the hook" in terms of having any responsibility for the well-being of children not our own. It allows us to ignore the evidence that a substantial number of our children are suffering from a range of conduct disorders, physical, mental and emotional difficulties often caused by their exposure to violence. We ignore the evidence that many parents are just too overwhelmed by the demands of survival to pay attention to the emotional and intellectual needs of their children.

I wonder how many middle class professionals are willing to have their helpers arrive after nine in the morning so that the helper can first escort her children to school. How many supermarket operators, store owners and fast food franchises are willing to close their businesses early enough to allow their staff to get home in time to help their children with their homework? How many of them invest in educational programmes for their staff so they can improve their life chances and those of their children? Yet some of these same persons will be the ones to throw their hands up in horror and declaim about the irresponsibility of the parents of children who find themselves in trouble.

Jamaican parents need an advocate. Given the current environment,, where being a parent seems to mean being identified as part of the problem rather than part of the solution, and the associated calls for parents to be held accountable, there is definitely a need for some 'body' to look out for the interest of parents, especially those in poor urban or rural communities.

The idea of parent advocates and parent advocacy is not new. It is best known in the special needs sector where parents with children with psychological, educational or other disabilities have had to fight for access to resources and support. The concept also has some currency in the field of child protection, where parents, especially those from ethnic and minority groups, often have to fight with the official system to retain custody of or access to their children.

parents' rights

The National Coalition for Parent Advocacy in the US, for example, has a Birthparents' Bill of Rights, which affirms a parent's right to speak for him or herself, with the assistance of a parent advocate, if necessary, and to be treated with respect in all phases of any investigation into the treatment of their child. Parents have a right to know why they are being investigated and to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

I wonder if Annaleise Davis' parents have been accorded these rights. Look how quickly members of the public turned from sympathy to criticism when the possibility that all was not well in the home became known.

Arlene Bailey, president of the Fletcher's Land Parenting Association would tell you that dealing with people's problems in such a public manner is not a good idea. She has worked with Christopher Hall and other members of the organisation to translate the oft-repeated phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" into a meaningful reality. It was Christopher's idea five years ago that led to the community's decision to establish a 9 o'clock curfew for school-aged children in the community. It means that any community member can send home a child found on the street after that time.

community help

Christopher knew that as a single parent he wouldn't be able to handle the parenting job by himself and called on his community for help. Arlene translated her grief over the murder of her child's father into a passion for building community.

These last five years they have gone over "hurdles and through trials, tribulations and power struggles" to achieve their goal of "raising competent children through community parenting". They don't have a lot of time for the "academia and technocrats" who want to preach at them about parenting. They are too busy trying to find the resources to keep the community feeding programme going and sharing their knowledge and experience with other communities.

They want an advocate who will help to draw attention to the need to transform the environment in which they must raise their children. They want an advocate who will listen to them and who will work with them to find resources to sustain their initiative. While they have been assisted by Sistren Theatre Collective, the Citizens' Security and Justice Programme and one or two corporate bodies, much more is needed.

Who is going to advocate for parents like these? Parents who go to extraordinary lengths to secure the success of their children? Parents who could write volumes about parenting? Parents whose efforts are more readily recognised at the international level than in their own country? No lasting solution to the current crisis in our schools and communities can be constructed if we continue to ignore the intimate knowledge, experience and energy of parent leaders such as those in Fletchers Land.

Peta-Anne Baker is the co-ordinator of the Social Work Programme at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She may be contacted at pab.ja2009@gmail.com, or send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.