The 10to19 Dasra Adolescent Collaborative’s Community of Practice hosted a webinar “Voices from the Ground II” to draw attention to the crucial role of parents/guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the webinar, they highlighted solutions to support parents and leverage their influence more effectively. With the pandemic taking over India, there is widespread uncertainty within families as they deal with job losses, reverse migration and limited access to food.
There is uncertainty among parents who have young children — many of whom have lost access to schools and safe spaces like Anganwadi centers, play areas, etc. Adolescents are experiencing reduced interactions with friends and other psycho-social support groups, along with an increase in academic pressures, restrictions at home and intra-household dynamics. In this situation, parents have to be supported to step up to ensure children and youth are given the right support they need to be healthy, happy and safe.
The webinar indicated that there is a growing need for civil society organizations who are working with adolescents and youth on empowerment, education, safety, health, and rights-related programs to look at engaging with parents during this crisis. Here are some broad challenges and recommendations that can help organizations think of innovative ways of engaging with parents and children.
Adolescent girls are extremely vulnerable during this time; all the work that has happened in the adolescent empowerment space to shift the indicators might take a few steps back if parents are not sensitized and engaged. Sabita, a parent working with PRIA, describes the situation:
“And now, they want to know that because of this lockdown they will not lose their freedom. I, myself, am unsure what will happen after this lockdown — will the girls be able to go back to school? Can they? Will they be forced to get married? […] The men think that the only thing to do [if they are at home] is to get them married. We do not know what will happen.”
With uncertainty about the future and a financial crisis, fathers and brothers are thinking of marrying off young girls. Furthermore, the disproportionate burden of work at home, combined with uncertainty over the future, is creating a lot of pressure on girls who have to resist these challenges. Sabita, community parent with Martha Farrell Foundation, says,
“People are beginning to ask, what is the use of the girls studying? Now girls are not allowed to step outside but must work at home instead, like before. Because access to mobile phones is also restricted to the men in the family, it is hard for them to study or even talk to friends about studying. They are asked many questions about who they are talking to and why, and what is the need”
Parents face a lot of anxiety around communicating on sensitive issues like mental health, gender-based violence, menstrual hygiene, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. A state-wide research study conducted by Dasra in Jharkhand in 2018, found that, at the time of the survey, over 90% of all adolescents surveyed did not, or could not, discuss reproductive processes with their parents.
In response, Dr Zoya Ali Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner (Adolescents Health), of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, elaborates:
“With mothers at home, at least conversations around menstrual hygiene happen. What happens in households with no mothers; how do adolescents get information in those situations?
For instance, a news clip about rape or domestic violence that parents and adolescents watch together can pave the way for a conversation about consent, the importance of respecting women and so on. This helps to normalise these conversations, and parents don’t need a separate time for sex education.
Studies have shown that the full involvement of the family in addressing the mental health of a child leads to better outcomes for the child.”
Here are some key recommendations that emerged from the webinar for practitioners, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to adopt, as they work to strengthen parent/guardian engagement:
Inter-generational And Peer Support Platforms
- Set up interactive platforms where fathers and daughters can talk to each other freely, communicate their differing aspirations, and negotiate.
- Provide a platform for parents to engage — to ensure that they’re also supported, as much as they need to support children and adolescents.
- Mobilise peer support for parents, such as mother groups, SHGs, and community volunteers to act as a support group for parents.
- Leverage informal networks to identify high-risk households and link them to redressal systems.
- Facilitate interactions within parent groups to share role-model examples from within the community.
Positive Parenting Is Key
- Goal setting has offered a way to motivate the family — setting and articulating goals, such as ‘I will finish secondary school’ means that they have all agreed on what they want and are less likely to deviate from them.
- Encourage parents to spend quality time with children, even if it is just ten minutes a day.
- Including adolescents in key household decisions — such as budgeting — helps them feel involved, and they can understand the challenges and pressures faced by parents as well.
- Keep an open mind and communicate with love, understanding and patience.
- Be open to learning together and achieving goals together — without being afraid of not knowing an answer or admitting that you need to refer to more information.
Dr Rizvi explains: “Parents must identify and make use of “teachable moments” — moments of everyday life that allow for families to discuss important issues in an open and involved manner. This dialogue is particularly important — studies show that in households where open communication happens, children tend to be better-adjusted.”
Here are the speakers who participated in the webinar:
Session I:
Sabita Ji – community parent, Martha Farrell Foundation; Dr Zoya Rizvi – Dy. Commissioner – Adolescent Health-MoHFW; Sunitha BJ – Dy. Director-KHPT; Anshu Kumari – project facilitator – Project Spoorthi, KHPT; Nandita Pradhan Bhatt- Director, Martha Farrell Foundation.
Session II:
Srabonti Ghosh – Lead-Safe School Project (Jharkhand and West Bengal), Aangan Trust, Sudeshna Basu – State coordinator, Jharkhand -Aangan Trust, Rajeev Sinha – Regional Thematic Officer – Child Protection, Plan India, Ankita Baxla -Facilitator, Plan India.
Watch the webinar video here:
If you have any questions or suggestions, please reach out to us at 10to19community@dasra.org.