Safety N’ Us, a proactive organisation which seeks to address the root cause of forms of violence against children in the context of the 21st century connected society is scaling up efforts towards safe parenting in view of the dangers associated with raising children in the digital society.
Speaking to this publication following a recent talk show dubbed Parenting in the 21st century held in Harare, the organization’s founder and director Lucia Mutsvedu said it was imperative that parents understand the dangers associated with use of electronic gadgets, especially for their young children.
“The majority of our 21st century parents have adapted and seen value in availing electronic gadgets for their children as a form of entertainment or to assist with their studies,” she said.
“While this is a generally welcome development, there are so many dangers associated with uncontrolled use of these gadgets for minors.
“We are, therefore, happy to engage in open and candid discussions over how we can manage this challenge seeing that use of electronic gadgets has become a part of life for all citizens, young and old alike.
“Parenting is all about ensuring the best for our children hence the importance of this talk show facilitated by various industry experts.”
Mutsvedu, who is a respected child rights advocate, was joined at the seminar by Jessie Mhaka, a mind fitness coach and Morgan Mutsau who is the director of Africa Region Wow Bank Cards in unpacking the intricate details related to parenting in the digital world.
“The scope of this talk show is to unplug digital parenting in a more candid and telling manner so that we have are able to strike a balance between embracing technology and responsible parenting that can bring the best out of our children,” Mutsvedu said.
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She shared about the scope of her organisation.
“In the digital society, children have surpassed their adults in technology usage and have been thrown in the deep end of technology, exposing them to new forms of vulnerability,” Mutsvedu said.
“It then becomes imperative that we invest in responsible parenting whereby we monitor and have some form of control over what our children are exposed to.
“Once we do that, we can nip a lot of challenges in the bud.”
Mutsvedu spoke on how direct violence takes the forms of cyber bullying, exposure to illicit content and even scams which children can be exposed over the internet
“Technology also exposes children to various forms of violence like cyber bullying, exposure to illicit content and even online scams which we can all guard against should we take precautionary measures,” she said.
The passionate child rights advocate’s community outreach programmes on parenting and parenting in the digital world have been largely received by many communities
“Our vision is to lead the way to reduce systematic violence and exploitation against children in the digital society,” she said.
Traditionally society would manage child safety by providing a physical protection and also controlling information from reaching children before they get to maturity age.
Mutsvedu hinted at increased collaboration with development organisation, embassies, aid agencies, corporates as well as government departments and ministries as they roll out child protection programmes under her organisation.
