One of Sowetan’s regular features is its Parenting Corner, which contains information and advice directed at parents. Topics previously covered have included the role of fathers, suicide, alternatives to corporal punishment, and bullying. This week’s Parenting Corner provides guidelines on how to tell children about death (“How to tell kids about death”, 07/10/08, p.11). It is to be commended for publishing information and advice of direct relevance to parents and children, particularly in South Africa.

While the information included in Parenting Corner is not provided by Sowetan’s own reporters, but sourced primarily from Kids Health Website[1], the credit goes to Sowetan for a number of reasons.

In the first place, Sowetan has made use of its wide scale publication to promote more broadly information that can be used to protect the welfare, rights and interests of children.

This is especially noteworthy given the information is only otherwise available on the internet, thereby excluding people without computer literacy and/or internet access.

Secondly, in its use of discretion to select material, Sowetan chooses topics which are of direct relevance to its readers, both carers and – potentially – children.

By providing this information, Sowetan supports carers in the difficult role and responsibilities of raising children [2].

For these reasons, MMP supports the Parenting Corner, and hopes to see it continuation.

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Footnotes

  1. The details of this site are not included in the feature. It would be useful for Sowetan to include this information, so those with internet access and skills can utilise it themselves.
2. The responsibilities of parents are specified in Article 18 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989). The rights of children to parental care, family care, or alternative care are specified in Section 28 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of South Africa (1996).