The World Requires Responsible Parents

 

Global Day of Parents 2024 / 01 June / Articl

The World Requires Responsible Parents

Fr Dr M. D. Thomas

Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi

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The 01^st day of June is marked as ‘Global Day of Parents’ by the United Nations. The day was declared by the United Nations on 17 September 2012. It is a day to celebrate the importance and value of parents and parenthood in life.

 

The United Nations began focusing attention on issues related to the family in 1980^s. In 1990, the Commission for Social Development made a proposal for enhancing the awareness among decision-makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family. The global day is the right response to the same.     

 

‘Global Day of Parents’ is dedicated to parents and it is a yearly occasion for children to express their gratitude to the parents for all that they have done for them. The most vital relationship one has in life is with one’s parents. This has to be cherished, relished and honoured.   

 

Stimulating awareness of the importance of parenthood and its responsibilities, in view of the integral and all-round growth of the child is the purpose of the day. Community leaders, parents, children, teachers and family organizations come together in celebrating the day.   

 

The day is an occasion to recognize the great and unique dedication selflessly measured out to the children by the parents. The enormous sacrifices undertaken by the parents for the good and wellbeing of the children deserve to be duly honoured and thanked for.

 

Global Parents Day is also an opportunity for the children to strengthen their bonds with their parents, by way of reviewing and renewing their commitment to take care of them with devotion and attention to the details, that too, to their optimum satisfaction.

 

The day is also geared towards appreciating parents of all races, religions, cultures and nationalities in all the parts of the world as primary caregivers and teachers as well as life-builders of their children, along with founders of the human society.

 

This day, children plan pleasant surprises and gifts for their parents, cook for them some delicious dishes and spend quality time with them, sharing joyful memories with them. Schools celebrate parents’ day, inviting parents to their schools, as well.

 

Parents are a beacon in the life of a child. They lay the foundation for the lives of the children. They nurture and equip them with skills for the life all the way through. Parents protect their children and make numerous sacrifices for ensuring their growth. 

 

Parents are the first teachers of the child. Human interaction of the child begins with the parents. A friendship with the parents is the healthiest relationship one can have. Trust and respect are more important than strict guardianship and authority.

 

Having a good set of parents is the greatest blessing in life. Parents have to be role models for the child. A healthy environment is sure to facilitate the development of the full potential of the child. Emotional strain or shock can upset the future of the child.

 

Parenting has a great impact on the economic and social as well as emotional and mental growth of the child. Strengthening the stability within the nuclear families is a major area to be attended to.

 

Parenting is the most universal experience in the world. But, being a parent is definitely not a walk in the park. It has its challenges, struggles, sorrows and tragedies, along with glories and comedies.

 

Family is the most basic unit of the human society and parents are the pillars of the same. The huge responsibility of the parents to ensure the overall health and wellbeing of all the members of the family is beyond the scope of being measured.

 

Responsible parenthood is the most basic thing in family and in the society. Parents are responsible in planning the strength of the family. Parents who increase the size of the family beyond their capacity add trouble to the children and to the society.

 

Human parenthood cannot be left to the natural and biological instinct. Parents require being taught that quality is more important than quantity. Parents have to be subjected to compulsory training and education before marriage and even after marriage, periodically. 

 

Parenting is a divine endowment. To be a parent would mean sharing in the creative role of the Creator. This is a sacred duty as well as right. It is a human act. It has to be performed with a sense of sacred. The accountability of parenting is directly linked to the Creator.          

 

‘Global Day of Parents 2024’ is a great occasion for appreciating and recognizing parents of the entire world for the great job they keep performing for the human society, in line with the sacred design of the Creator.

 

Besides, it an opportunity for officials of the governmental, administrative, educational, religious, social and cultural sectors, to appropriate all possible measures for promoting responsible parenthood, so that the human society may make progress towards the humane dimensions and divine proportions of life. A warm salute to all the parents of the world!   

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The author is Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, and has been committed to education, cross-cultural perspectives, cross-scriptural values, constitutional values, interfaith relations, social ethics, communal harmony, national integration and social wellbeing, for the past over 40 years. He contributes to the above cause through lectures, articles, video messages, conferences, social interactions, views at TV channels, and the like.

 

He could be viewed, listened to and contacted at the following portals – websites ‘www.mdthomas.in’ (p), ‘https://mdthomas.academia.edu’ (p), ‘https://drmdthomas.blogspot.com’(p) and ‘www.ihpsindia.org’ (o); social media ‘https://www.youtube.com/InstituteofHarmonyandPeaceStudies’ (o), ‘https://twitter.com/mdthomas53’ (p), ‘https://www.facebook.com/mdthomas53’ (p); email ‘mdthomas53@gmail.com’ (p) and telephone 9810535378 (p).