KINGSTON, Jamaica — A growing chorus of child welfare advocates are urging lawmakers to declare a national crisis over Jamaica’s deteriorating parenting culture, calling for a formal government-backed transformation plan to address what they describe as a “generational collapse of the Jamaican household.”
The push, led by Hear The Children’s Cry (HTCC), centers on a 10-year intervention strategy that would embed parenting reform into national development policy — complete with state funding, media mandates, and school-based tracking.
“This is no longer about awareness. We are at the stage where parenting in Jamaica must be treated as a national development issue, not a personal one,” said Nigel Cooper, director of HTCC.
He argues that recent government spending on military upgrades to fight gang violence is shortsighted if the core social fabric — the home — continues to decay. “You can’t militarize your way out of broken homes,” Cooper stated bluntly.
Parenting as Policy
The group is calling for:
- Legislative mandates to require parenting development courses in schools with measurable outcomes.
- State-run behavioural reform programmes for high-risk households.
- Annual parenting audits at community level, alongside existing welfare tracking.
The proposal, which is estimated to require multi-billion-dollar state investment, would be tied into the education and social security portfolios.
“We’re not asking for another campaign,” said Cooper. “We’re demanding a state-recognized framework for rebuilding families — not with posters and hashtags, but with laws, budgets, and enforcement.”
Long-Term vs. Crisis Management
According to HTCC, child abuse reports in Jamaica average more than 1,000 per month, most linked to environments marked by emotional neglect or absent fathers.
Cooper warns that without long-term investment, Jamaica will remain in a perpetual cycle of crisis management. “The last four decades have normalized emotional absenteeism, rage-based discipline, and disengaged parenting. You can’t break that with slogans,” he said.
The organisation also believes civil society has a role to play. They’ve proposed that NGOs, churches, and community groups be formally integrated into the national strategy as implementing partners — not afterthoughts.
“Fixing parenting is not about blame. It’s about national survival,” Cooper concluded.
