16- year-old Vijay* lives with his single father and seven other siblings in the nation of Sri Lanka. When the lockdowns due to COVID-19 began in Sri Lanka, Vijay’s father struggled in his role as a single parent. Keeping the children at home and managing the family during the many weeks of the imposed curfews was a daunting task. This overburdened father often lost his patience with his children and resorted to punishment to correct difficult behaviour. He wondered how he could continue to cope while he and the children were confined to their home.

Things began to change for Vijay’s father when he was introduced to the Covid Parenting Tips by the Center of Hope (an outreach of the Assembly of God in Colombo, Sri Lanka).

The Alliance of Development Trust (ADT), a local non-governmental organization in Sri Lanaka, partnered with the Center of Hope to share about the tips they had received from World Without Orphans. Their desire was to ensure that families in need could have access to the materials. ADT saw the benefits of the parenting tips and set about to get the messages into as many homes as possible to support parents during the lockdown as they understood that preventing violence against children was a necessary task.

When Vijay’s father received the parenting tips and looked through the content, he was quick to admit that he wished he’d known this information earlier! Weeks after receiving the material, the staff of the Center of Hope contacted Vijay’s family and found a very different situation. His father was no longer criticizing his children and was instead noticeably more patient with them. He commented that he even found his children being more respectful and cooperative!

Learn more about the Covid-19 Parenting Tips and download them in your local language

* names and photos may have been changed to protect the privacy of families