Teenage boys in Hout Bay in Cape Town say their parents need counselling and education to be able to parent “positively” and avoid “primitive” ways of raising them.  

This was revealed on the second day of the Child Protection Week campaign in Hout Bay by the department of social development with the focus this year on boys.  

The boys raised several issues, including how their parents raise them, how nurses disclose their HIV status to the community and issues of cyberbullying.  

A 15-year-old boy from Hangberg said parents insisted on using primitive methods to raise them, forgetting that times have changed. He said parents should stop threatening their children with violence and corporal punishment.  

“Our parents are going through a lot in life and some take out their anger and frustration on their children. They often want us to be raised in their primitive ways and want us to go through similar experiences as theirs,” the boy said.  

They asked nurses to respect their privacy when seeking information about their reproductive health at clinics.

“Nurses who are our neighbours should refrain from disclosing our HIV status to the community. This behaviour discourages children from testing for the virus,” said one of the minors.  

Another boy from Imizamo Yethu, an informal settlement in the greater Hout Bay Valley area, said cyber bullying contributed to destroying their lives. He was concerned his peers committed suicide because their pictures were published online without their consent.  

“Cellphones must be used responsibly and as children, we must not invite strangers on our social media platforms. Social media must be used in a responsible manner, such as accessing and sharing information.”  

The boys also saw a need for other children to do more technical and vocational training as some excel in using their hands rather than in academics.  

Parents were given a chance to respond and agreed on the importance of teaching their children about teenage pregnancy and sex education.   

“The children belong to us, not to the government, and we should learn to be open enough to talk and educate our children about everything,” said Julia Skwatsha, from Imizamo Yethu.

TimesLIVE