The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) is just around the corner, set for the first week of November. Children from various centers- Kivuli, Tone la Maji and Anita Home will also be taking part in this year’s examination after which they will be reintegrated back to their families.

Throughout the year parents have been attending seminars to enable them prepare mentally and physically towards the arrival of their children from the centers. During the seminars parents are equipped with information on ways in which they can become responsible parents and how to build a solid relationship between the parent and the child.

The last seminar of the year took place at Shalom House on the 30th of September, which was conducted by Ambassador Edwin Tiego, a mentorship coordinator. In the session he did emphasize the importance of the role of a parent in the life of a child which he illustrated through a narrative of how  a pilot is able to steer an airplane from one destination to another.  The pilot is able to achieve this effectively through instructions issued to them from the control tower. The control tower is this instance symbolized the role of a parent in the life of a child. A good parent is one who is able to issue effective direction and morals to their child which they can emulate to become responsible individuals.

It is important to note that in life one is bound to make mistakes and children are no exception, for this reason parents should be able to correct their children in ways in which the children can learn from their mistakes and avoid them in future. There is also the need for parents to reward good behavior as a way of shaping behavior.

Mr. Tiego encouraged the use of the 3F’s in parenting –Firmness, parents should be firm in the decisions they make in regard to their children while at the same time being Fair in the kind of punishment they give their children and most importantly be Friends with their children as that is the only way they will detect any changes in their children lives.