Back in the day, it took a village to raise a child. What this literally means is that raising a child was the responsibility of every one. If anyone found any child misbehaving in the village paths, they would reprimand them. It didn’t matter whether you knew the child or the parents.

However, you would not say the same today, as far as parenting is concerned. As the 11th National Children’s Summit kicks off today in Kigali, it is time to re-examine our parenting values as a country.

Today, most parents are too busy and give little time to parenting. As a result children are growing up without proper upbringing to become responsible and productive citizens as adults.

Like the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Esperance Nyirasafari, noted, this summit should be a moment to reflect on the state of parenting in the country. It is time for parents to take parenting more seriously to ensure that children are raised in an environment that will preserve the positive cultural values and norms of the country.

The summit, which will bring together 416 children representatives from across the country, is a good platform to reiterate this call.

Children are the future of society and can lay a firm foundation for society to prosper.

Parents and society in general should play a central role in shaping children and guiding them. Research across the world has showed that poor parenting has led to the breakdown of the moral fabric in some societies, and this is not what, as a country, we should allow at our doorstep.

Children learn by seeing, and how you conduct yourself as a parent or guardian greatly influences the behavior of your children.

Positive parenting is bedrock of the wellbeing of Rwandan children. Let’s embrace it.