Cameroon launches program to promote positive parenting

YAOUNDE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon and the United Nations Children's Fund on Wednesday launched a maiden program to promote positive parenting in the Central African nation.

The "Positive Parenting Program" was imperative after evidence showed that parents are failing in their duty to raise their children responsibly, said Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa, Cameroonian minister of Women's Empowerment and the Family.

"Parents have lost track of their role and responsibility in bringing up children. Drug consumption, child labor, juvenile delinquency, proliferation of sex tape clearly shows the negligence of parents in guiding children. Instead, they have abandoned the upbringing of their children to housemaids and babysitters," Ondoa said during the launch of the program in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, regretting that social media influencers who preach immorality and obscenity are negatively impacting children.

"There is (a) need for the effective presence of parents in the life of children. We want a Cameroon where children are raised the right way," Ondoa said.

The program will guide parents on the best methods of raising their children and promote a range of behaviors that can help foster responsive and responsible parenting, officials said.