She said children first learn about right and wrong: “Parents being the first teachers of their children, they are also their personal coping consultants.”  Madam Fiati gave the advice at a meeting with parents to educate them on the psychology of children’s behaviours, which was organised by the SOS Children’s Villages Ghana at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.

The parents were taken through child values, consistency and security, coping skills, and relationships. Madam Fiati said: “The family is profoundly important to the developmental, emotional and cognitive growth of a child and that the children learn about relationships, manners, self-esteem, worth and loyalty by watching what their parents do.”

She said teachings in school counts, but home was more lasting, because it was where the children had closest relationships to express themselves. “This does not mean that peace and harmony need to be constant.”    She said children need to learn about disagreements and how to handle conflict and that the most important support parents could give their children was consistent structure to the daily routines of life which would give them security.

The Co-ordinator said these lessons and experiences pave way for personal relationships between parents and children.  Mr Emmanuel Aduako, a Social Worker and Youth Counsellor at SOS Children’s Villages Ghana – Tema, asked parents to rebuke their children when they went wrong to prevent them from being wayward.

He urged them to build good relationships with their children by interacting with them in a more polite way and foster common bonds in the family.