Director-General of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Michael Boakye Yiadom is urging parents to pay particular attention to behavioral changes in their wards to ensure they are not being bullied.
According to a 2016 Journal of Education Practice by Kwasi Otopa Antiri of the Department Of Guidance And Counselling, at UCC, bullying has been rampant in the Ghanaian schools but teachers in the schools were still not considering bullying as a serious problem in relation to students well-being or academic achievement.
It is therefore in light of this that Dr. Michael Boakye Yiadom says strange behaviours of children must be monitored by parents in order to identify when they are going through any form of bullying in school and in the community.
Speaking on the ATLANTIC WAVE Friday 5th November to commemorate UNESCO’s first International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying, he said the unusual behaviors of children will enable parents to determine with ease when children are being oppressed and take necessary actions.
He said in order to know when a child is being bullied, it is necessary for parents to develop a friendly relationship with their wards so that they can confide in them in times of challenges.
Most children, he said, fail to disclose their problems to their parents out of fear of being labeled as stubborn children and this makes them continue to endure secretly various forms of bullying being subjected to them.
“Relationships are very Key…we must have a relationship with these kids” He stressed.
Dr. Micheal Boakye Yiadom indicated that not only parents but teachers, pastors and Imams, and community leaders must know and have a relationship with youngsters within their reach to know and help avert any behavioral changes in them.
Source: Farouk Adam/ATLFMNEWS
