Dear Editor,
Be a woman before you become a mother.
Be a man before you become a father.
Boys/men do not become pregnant.
Two is better than too many.
The above were slogans used by our family planning agency many years ago. The messages are still relevant today. They need to restart that robust campaign in all media. It is my firm belief that if fewer babies were born, then there would be fewe children rendered uneducated and without options. Let's get down to the A, B, Cs of life.
We could then focus on ensuring that teachers responsible for our children's foundation education are qualified. Work could be done on the physical conditions of our schools to make them conducive for learning. We could improve the teacher-child ratio and deal with the nutritional needs of our children.
Further, the employment rate would also be reduced.
All I want to emphasise is that no potential parent should be without a proper plan. The days of sending your daughter to the next parish to some aunt/grandmother when they get pregnant early are over.
Boys too have the obligation to be smart; use 'rubbers'/French letters when indulging in intercourse. It is a joint responsibility for sexual responsibility. We must educate them.
The law, too, must hold each party 50 per cent responsible for the cost of upbringing children for the first 18 years of a child's life.
Educate the children on family planning. It's part of life's A, B, Cs.
Hugh Innis
Montego Bay
Teach family planning too
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Be a woman before you become a mother.
Be a man before you become a father.
Boys/men do not become pregnant.
Two is better than too many.
The above were slogans used by our family planning agency many years ago. The messages are still relevant today. They need to restart that robust campaign in all media. It is my firm belief that if fewer babies were born, then there would be fewe children rendered uneducated and without options. Let's get down to the A, B, Cs of life.
We could then focus on ensuring that teachers responsible for our children's foundation education are qualified. Work could be done on the physical conditions of our schools to make them conducive for learning. We could improve the teacher-child ratio and deal with the nutritional needs of our children.
Further, the employment rate would also be reduced.
All I want to emphasise is that no potential parent should be without a proper plan. The days of sending your daughter to the next parish to some aunt/grandmother when they get pregnant early are over.
Boys too have the obligation to be smart; use 'rubbers'/French letters when indulging in intercourse. It is a joint responsibility for sexual responsibility. We must educate them.
The law, too, must hold each party 50 per cent responsible for the cost of upbringing children for the first 18 years of a child's life.
Educate the children on family planning. It's part of life's A, B, Cs.
Hugh Innis
Montego Bay
Teach family planning too
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