| Parents too experience peer pressure |
Parents too sometimes act out of pressure, says Mrs Irene Kinuthia of Family Network. Mrs Kinuthia said this while moderating a parent's seminar for first and second year Bachelor of Commerce students held at the university on Saturday, 25th August 2007.
Giving the opening talk, SU's Professor Meoli Kashorda said parents as the first trainers of their children should empower them to resist negative peer pressure. "To do this effectively, you also have to influence your neighbourhood," he observed. Prof Kashorda said lecturers have a great influence on their students' value system outside the content of the subjects they teach. Still, he said the influence of parents cannot be under-estimated. During the plenary session parents observed that among the poor habits that negatively affect families and spouses include spouses having secret accounts, and absenteeism. Mrs Kinuthia observed that absenteeism could be caused by competition among spouses. “The me-too syndrome is not limited to neighbours. Sometimes, spouses get into unhealthy competition and become inmates instead of being team mates, she said. The parents also pointed out it is good to discern what a child is good at and help them excel in that area instead of expecting them to excel in areas they are not gifted in. The parents too vouched for financial transparency and said spouses should avoid secret bank accounts. They also said that parenting is as important and even more grave a responsibility than other undertakings like careers. |
