Gaining children's trust important to shield children from harmful influences: First Lady

It is important for parents to earn their children's trust to keep them away from harmful influences within the society and to give them a good upbringing, said First Lady Sajidha Mohamed yesterday.

The First Lady's comments were made in a video message sent on the occasion of Global Parenting Month, in collaboration with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Maldives.

In the video, she highlighted the need for parents to build strong relationships with children when raising them and emphasised that approaches to this would vary based on the child's age.

According to her, this can be achieved by parents participating in activities at the child's level. If the child is an adolescent, they should be treated as the parent's closest friend, the First Lady said.

"If this is not the case, the relationship with children does not grow stronger, especially the more trust that is built between the parents or guardians [and the child], the more the relationship gets stronger," First Lady Sajidha said.

If parents become the people that children trust the most, then they would be less likely to trust everything they see in the environment, she also said.

UNICEF celebrates global parenting month every June to highlight that caring for parents is crucial for the well-being of children, as they play a key role in their children's growth and development.