J'cans among 'Strictest Parents'
published:
Saturday | May 31, 2008
Tendai Franklyn-Brown, Staff Reporter
A television crew from the United Kingdom is currently seeking Jamaican parents to provide quality guardianship for troubled teens who lack discipline.
As part of a five-part series commissioned by the BBC and titled 'The World's Strictest Parents', several British teenagers will live with traditional families in India, Ghana and Jamaica for a week.
John Christ, producer of Twenty Twenty TV, based in London, which has a large Jamaican population, told The Gleaner that Jamaica was chosen for its 'famous' traditional culture of discipline.
"I have been speaking to a number of families out there and the kids, for example, are very keen on going to school and they want to learn.
"With the British government creating policies to protect the rights of children and govern what parents can and can't do, this has led to a breakdown in administering discipline," Christ explained.
Becoming lazy
"Generally, in the UK they're being overindulged and spoiled. There is no discipline, any drive to go to school or to work hard. They are just not interested and have actually become lazy."
According to Christ, the concept of the series was derived from the current parenting culture in the UK, which suggested that parents had lost control of their children due to a lack of discipline.
"The problem we have in the UK is that there is no kind of strictness when people are bringing up children, particularly teenagers. Parents threaten punishment but may not follow through.
"We think there's a lot to be learned from Jamaican culture. Our teenagers seem to be out of control, whereas the majority of Jamaican children seem to be far more disciplined and are motivated and have aspirations," he said.
Parenting has become a concern for parents worldwide. The Gleaner recently launched a weekly POSITIVE Parenting feature which addresses parenting concerns and provides practical solutions from experts.
tendai.franklyn-brown@gleanerjm.com
Answer the call
The BBC is calling all Jamaican Families interested in taking the challenge to contact;
