It is a role that cannot be played on the basis of chance. Raising a family builds up the character of the parents and fulfills their need to have children and develop their love for them and to share and plan life together.
Before this column shares with you some experiences, skills in parenting, duties and responsibilities and many more, let me first impart with you on what is responsible parenthood all about.
Responsible Parenthood, as a government program is based on several social and economic development and cultural and religious views.
It is an outcome responsible parents attain after gaining experiences and skills in rearing and bringing up their children with love and care.
Here are some definitions of responsible parenthood taken from various reference books and reading materials: Responsible Parenthood refers to the will and ability of parents to respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children.
It is a shared responsibility between husband and wife to determine and achieve the desired number, spacing and timing of their children according to their own family life aspirations, taking into account psychological preparedness, health status, socio-cultural and economic concerns (PPMP DP 2005-2010, Popcom).
It is the primary right and responsibility of parents to get actively involved in the promotion of their children's well being through the provision of adequate care, attention and affection (Training Manual on PMC, DOH 1996).
In relation to the biological process: responsible parenthood means the knowledge and respect of their functions...and in relation to physical, economic psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised either by the deliberate and generous decision to raise a numerous family or by the decision made for grave motives and with due respect for the moral law, to avoid for the time being or even for an indeterminate period, a new birth (Humanae Vitae #10).
With afore cited definitions, responsible parenting is a series of decisions make to ensure the best possible life for the parents out there, for your children, and for the communities you belong to.
More than just the decisions, responsible parenting is a commitment to ensure the well being of the family and to enable each to fully develop one's capabilities and potentials.
Responsible parenting includes the process of deciding how many children to have and when to have the first child.
Thus, one of its important aspects is fertility awareness of the couple and the methods by which they can achieve their planned family size. (RP Handbook, POPCOM 2007).
