“The other parents in my group challenged my way of doing things and I realised that some of the things I was doing weren’t right for my daughter.”
Before I started the programme my little girl called her sister “mum” – not me, which made me feel down and depressed but I didn’t know how to correct her. I didn’t know how to communicate with my daughter; to ask her how her day was and whether she enjoyed school or even say “good night” and give her a kiss. I felt bad about this.
Kids Matter showed me how to do things better. The other parents in my group challenged my way of doing things and I realised that some of the things I was doing weren’t right for my daughter.
Now, I have fun with my daughter! We go to the park and I help her with her homework. She doesn’t use the tablet when we are eating and she goes to bed at 7 o’clock (before, she was going to bed much later). I reward her for doing well, using the reward chart and stickers that we learnt about in the group sessions.
My daughter has totally changed, and I am so grateful. She says, “thank you mummy” and when she needs something she will say, “please” whereas before she was trying to get her way forcefully. It’s all because of the programme. Everybody in the group comes together and brings their ideas, and we talk about them. Everyone has a different way of doing things and we can learn from one another. Even now, if there’s something I am not sure of or my daughter is misbehaving, and I don’t know what to do, I call *Jenny (our group facilitator) and she talks me through it.
I think that in any community like mine, the Kids Matter parenting programme can change children’s lives.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals concerned.
The attached picture is not a representation of the individual concerned.