Buenavista, Quezon -- Economic deprivation affects a family in many ways. Parents who are economically deprived channel most of their energy to the survival of the family that, at times, they fail to pay attention to the importance of proper parental care. Many parents refuse to acknowledge better parenting styles and prefer the traditional way of disciplining a child by punishing them.
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) addresses the problem of poverty in a holistic way. 4Ps is a conditional cash transfer program which invests on human capital to end the intergenerational cycle of poverty among poor households. It is believed that by investing on children’s health, nutrition, and education, the chance to graduate from poverty is higher.

To be able to meet human development goals, certain conditionalities are set for compliance of beneficiaries. One of the conditions of parent-beneficiaries is attendance to responsible parenthood seminars, mother's classes, and parent effectiveness seminars (PES). This specific requirement aims to improve the parenting skills of beneficiaries to supplement other co-responsibilities that focus on education and health.

Mrs. Ofelia dela Cruz, a 4Ps beneficiary, shares how PES helps correct her traditional parenting style.  “Akala ko noon, tama na ang aking pagpapalaki sa aking mga anak, kapag sila ay nagkakamali agad ay pinapalo ko para madisplina. Kanina ko lang nalaman na hindi pala tama ang aking ginagawa”, she says after the session on PES in their parent-group in Brgy. Sabang Perez, Buenavista, Quezon.  (I used to believe that I’m bringing up my children properly, if they do something wrong I spank them. I just learned today that it’s not the proper way to discipline a child.)

Mr. and Mrs. Rolly dela Cruz have three children ages 8, 6 and 4. The eldest is in Grade II and the 2nd child is attending day care. They are receiving Php 1100 from the program for education and health assistance. Rolly is a fisherman while Ofelia sells fish in the village. It was good news for the couple when they learned that they are one of the 4Ps beneficiaries in their village.  

Ofelia’s group is in Module III, “Mga Hamon sa Pagiging Magulang” (The Challenges of Being a Parent) of their PES classes. Various challenges in parenting are introduced to parent-beneficiaries by trained volunteer day care worker facilitator.

Ofelia was nominated by other beneficiaries as parent leader and she humbly accepted the responsibility. As a parent leader, she makes sure that she and her husband is present in every PES class.

Ofelia admits that her old practices are wrong and commits to rectify them. “Bilang ina at magulang ay mahirap pong aminin na maling pagpapalaki ang ginagawa kong pagdidisiplina sa aking mga anak. Dahil sa PES, marami akong natutunang responsibilidad bilang asawa at ina sa aking mga anak. Unti-unti ko pong babaguhin ang aking pagkakamali para mapalaki ko ng maayos ang aking mga anak. Maraming pong salamat sa mga tinuturo ng 4Ps sa aming lahat.”  (As a mother and parent, it was difficult for me to admit that my parenting practices are improper. Through PES, I have also learned other responsibilities of a wife and a mother. I will gradually change my old ways to enable me to bring up my children properly. Thank you for all the lessons that 4Ps taught us).

For Rolly, 4Ps has exceeded his expectations:“Akala ko po ay magbibigay lang sa amin ng pera ang 4Ps, iyon pala ay marami kaming matututunan dahil sa mga PES na ginagawa nila para sa aming mag-asawa. Labis po ang aming pasasalamat sa 4Ps”, he says. (I thought 4Ps will only provide cash assistance, I never thought that it would provide new learnings because of the PES classes they conduct for couples. We are extremely grateful to 4Ps)

PES helps couples like Rolly and Ofelia realize their better ways of disciplining their children. Through the program, they are able to express their intentions to raise their children well without or minimal physical punishment. It assures them the proper development of their children and the improvement of their parenting skills.### (4Ps Social Marketing Unit)