Child and Social Upbringing
As the first quarter of the twenty-first century comes to an end, economic, social, and environmental challenges continue to grow, and the pace of technological transformation accelerates. This calls for the development of promising and ambitious strategies, programs, and plans to ensure the proper upbringing of children, protect their physical and mental well-being, support the development of their abilities, and safeguard their security and safety. In this context, the role of Social Development Investment becomes essential in confronting these challenges and transformations, and in creating opportunities that provide a life that meets children’s physical, psychological, educational, and social needs, with a strong emphasis on sustainability.
The importance of investing in early childhood education and primary education also becomes evident, along with efforts to expand teacher training and qualification, strengthen social systems, and ensure the provision of healthcare for mothers, newborns, children, and adolescents, while ensuring gender equality, as well as enacting legislation to protect children’s rights in digital environments.
This requires parents to commit to demonstrating positive behavior and displaying it in their daily interactions with their children, as children are greatly influenced by the behavior of their family members. Therefore, it is essential for the family to receive support and assistance, especially since the role of the family and parents becomes increasingly important each day during the upbringing of children. The family bears all responsibilities related to raising the child, shaping their personality, forming their behavioral and intellectual development, and guiding their educational and cognitive growth, in addition to meeting their basic needs such as proper nutrition, healthcare, and ensuring their psychological well-being. This must be achieved through cooperation with institutions responsible for the educational process, as well as health and social institutions, in a way that equips children and enhances their abilities and skills to face challenges, solve problems, and distinguish between right and wrong, and between proper and improper. This, in turn, contributes to developing their social skills and building their relationships with others.
Children are expected to face many challenges in the coming decades, including climate challenges, demographic changes, and advanced and complex technologies in artificial intelligence systems and mechanisms. It is also expected that these challenges may carry significant risks if parents do not follow principles and guidelines that ensure the safety of children, protect their minds, and ensuring that their pathways in education, training, and work support their formation as engaged and responsible citizens.
This will require future measures that ensure the proper and safe upbringing of children, enabling communities to continue advancing their sustainable development goals.
I would like to emphasize that a family environment grounded in security and stability is of utmost importance. Parents must carry out their roles and be fully aware of their familial and parental responsibilities. This is essential for children, as such an environment fosters their healthy and holistic development in the physical, social, psychological, cognitive, and academic domains. It also equips them with the skills that prepare them more effectively to become impactful citizens who contribute positively to the development of their communities and their countries.
Fatima bint Mubarak
