![Child Wellbeing - A Personal Perspective from a Dad](https://www.netnewsledger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Little-Helper-ORC-Day.jpg)
THUNDER BAY – LIVING – Impressionable, marvellous, beautiful, trusting, resilient, colourful, spirited…… just some things that describe Our Children.
I’m on a coffee break, en route to our SCA – Special Chiefs Assembly with a focus on Child Welfare.
Here are some things that I have to offer to help frame a context.
Our children are special — to a depth and degree, we often have limited understanding.
I can’t help but think about Young Parents and their Kids — making sure they have the tools to parent is so critical. Children learn from parents and guardians; the level of parental aptitude, culture and emotional intelligence is always a contingency of how successful and strong a child will develop.
I’ll speak from my own perspective;… as a young father in my early 20s,..man, I had no clue, concept or comprehension to give all that my kids deserved — so I was not nearly as in tune about parenting as I am today. By the way, I’m not claiming to be the greatest dad today — but that’s not my point. My point is this……
- kids need love and acceptance to a direct degree in any given circumstance — they must never feel less than any challenge in their lives.
- kids need to be provided psychological safety in all that is around them; they need to know that they are being considered in any situation that parents or guardians are responsible for.
- kids need to be provided opportunities to test their capabilities and their gifts in learning situations — knowing that their parents or guardians are going to be there to help facilitate their growth.
These are just some things I learned over time and things that were reinforced with #BabyNiigaan today.
My little helper gave me much to think about today.
Isadore Day
Ontario Regional Chief