Positive Discipline for children’s effective learning at home

 

 

Save the Children Philippines partners with the Department of Education (DepEd) in holding a month-long webinar on positive discipline to help parents and guardians support children’s learning at home during the pandemic.

 

The collaboration supports DepEd’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan to ensure that children’s rights to education is fulfilled, while protecting their health and safety during the pandemic. “Parents and guardians play a critical role in the continued education of their children despite the challenges of this pandemic,” said Atty. Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines.

 

The webinar will run on September 9, 16, 23 and 30, and October 7 and can be viewed for free through the Facebook pages of Save the Children Philippines and DepEd Philippines, as well as on DepEd TV. Wilma Banaga, Child Protection Advisor and Jerly Villanada, Child Protection Manager of Save the Children Philippines will guide parents and guardians in supervising their children’s learning under the online and modular set-up through a series of courses promoting positive discipline.

 

“Positive discipline is an approach that helps build stronger relationships between parents/guardians and children,” said Banaga. The second course on Identifying Long-term goals will focus on the characteristics, values, and the kind of relationship that parents would want their children to have when they reach adulthood. “The session provides parents and guardians with tips in managing stress since it is one of the factors that affect parents’ disciplining practices,” said Banaga. The third webinar on September 23 will introduce two powerful positive discipline tools-Warmth and Structure. “Warmth is creating a loving and safe environment where children feel and learn trust, security, and respectful communication,” Villanada said. “Structure is scaffolding children’s learning by providing them with information and guidance they need to perform what is expected of them, to learn from their mistakes, and solve problems.” The webinar will also guide parents, guardians to understand how children think and feel to help them empathize with their children by understanding the stages of their development. The last session on Responding to Challenges using Positive Discipline seeks to help parents, guardians to manage their stress, and understand why children are behaving the way they do. Save the Children Philippines is campaigning for Positive Discipline as a national policy to protect children from physical and humiliating punishments.

 

According to the National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children in 2016, three out of five children experienced physical violence during childhood and most of them happened in the home. The study also showed that 14.3 percent of those who attended school experienced physical violence in school.