Parents urged to love children

By BRADLEY MARIORI
EVANGELICAL Lutheran church of PNG (ELCPNG) head bishop Rev Dr Jack Urame is appealing to husbands and wives to love and care for their children.
He said if their (husband and wife) relationship was defective, they should not offload their frustration and bitterness to children because children were innocent.
Responding to media reports about a seven-year-old girl abused and tortured in Western Highlands recently by a female relative, Rev Urame said children should not be treated like scapegoats where conflicts and burdens of parents are thrown on them.
“They should be treated as precious gifts,” he said.
“In our traditional Melanesian society, children were never neglected or left alone. Even orphans were never left in isolation.
“Due to the strong social network and communal life, children were always in the safe hands in communities.
“They felt accepted, loved, safe and secured.
“But today, we are seeing a different trend.
“We are facing a huge social challenge.
“Our society is crumbling with new changes and developments and our values of family life, marriage, relationship, communal life, respect and care for each other is declining so much.
“We are losing the social and cultural pillars of our Melanesian society and the increase in violence against children or child abuse is an indicator of the collapse of our social foundations.
“As Melanesians and Papua New Guineans, we should reflect on this emerging problem and re-think and reclaim our social and cultural foundations.
“Many children live in fear, worry and are depressed and this indicates the collapse of the social order in our society.
“Children never asked to be born but are brought into the world through human love.”