Marriage and Family Life : Couples and Family Experts address growing challenges

Husbands, wives, psychologists, a life coach, marriage counsellors, and spiritual authorities have come together to address growing challenges in child upbringing.

Pornographic content on television and social media, sexual orientation, couple problems, and a rise in juvenile delinquency, are growing societal challenges to parenting in the 21st century.

These issues were tackled in a conference on the theme “Marital Life and Child Education : Stakes and Challenges” at the Spiritual Centre for Marriage and Family of the Archdiocese of Yaounde, on June 22, 2023.

Three panelists led the discussions; Rev. Father Herve Djamga, Priest and Director of the Spiritual Centre for Marriage and Family of the Archdiocese of Yaounde, Elysee Fossi, Guidance Counsellor, Educator and Psychotherapist, and Suzanne Kasper Mbilla, life coach and skin care specialist.

Wholesome Child Education

As the experts sought solutions to problems within the family circle, they emphasized that parents must become first educators and should endeavor to give their children an all-round education which must start from the home.

“The responsibility to educate is that of parents. Children should have certain values they acquire at home before going to school. The role of parents in educating their kids is capital . Education must be human, spiritual and intellectual.” Rev. Father Herve Djamga, told Crtv Web.

Unaffected Children

Susanne Gasper Mbilla, a life Coach and cosmetic expert coached parents to cooperate with their spouses in raising children rightly without painting mum or Dad black.

“A father is a father no matter how he looks. We must understand our responsibility in the education of our kids . The mother is the left tire and the father is the right. The mother must show the children a good image of their father. We should not make them bear the weight of our problems,” Susanne Gasper told the attendees.

Elysee Fossi, Guidance Counsellor, Educator and Psychotherapist stressed on why children should be kept out of couple squabbles.

“There are many obstacles to surmount in marriage. We should think about what we can gain by being together and educating our children properly. We should handle couple life without our children being affected. Communication is indispensable in a marriage.”

Attendees of the conference agreed that raising children in this dispensation must be intentional. To achieve this, they acknowledge that they need to connect with their children in order to stay relevant and create lasting impact.

The panelists said parents should have a vision for the kind of adults they want, reinforce cultural values and raise them accordingly.

Kathy Neba Sina