By Maureen Kizito
As the 2025 school year ends and the holiday season sets in, our homes and communities fill with excitement. Yet even amid festive celebrations, we must remain conscious of our profound responsibility: safeguarding the wellbeing of more than 22 million children, 50.5 per cent of our population, according to the 2024 UBOS report.
The 2024 Police Report recorded 787 child abuse and torture cases, 12,317 defilement cases, and 9,408 juvenile cases, revealing an alarming picture of children as direct targets and victims of crime. North Kyoga registered the highest number of child-related offences (1,154 cases), followed by Kampala Metropolitan North (706), Sipi (544), Busoga East (491), and Albertine (472).
These statistics show that child neglect and the practice of entrusting children to unsafe adults remain leading causes of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
Planning for a safe holiday
As the holidays approach, parents and caregivers need to plan carefully to ensure children are not exposed to harm, especially from adults meant to protect them, or to exploitation in an increasingly chaotic political environment.
Holidays present heightened risks for children, parents, and caregivers. The dangers posed by harmful online content—whether movies, songs, or cartoons, as well as risks in crowded play areas, must be reduced through proactive parental guidance. Children should be made aware of potential threats and supported to navigate their environments safely.
Meaningful, purposeful engagement
Purposeful engagement is key. Children should be encouraged to participate in practical, interesting, and skill-building activities at home and within the community. Their attention should be directed towards productive and educative pursuits such as board games, simple gardening, cooking, baking, sewing, crocheting, or learning musical instruments.
Constructive conversations after school
As children return from school, it is important for parents and caregivers to discuss academic performance objectively. Allowing children to explain both their successes and challenges nurtures agency, reflection, and a healthy sense of accountability.
These conversations should not be used to assign blame, issue threats, or withdraw support. Instead, they should strengthen the bond between parent or caregiver and child and help lay the foundation for future success and sustained parental involvement.
Balancing academics, rest, responsibility
While most schools issue holiday work, parents should schedule appropriate times for completing these academic tasks. Holidays must not turn into an extension of the school term. Children need to rest after a year of academic pressure. They should be allowed adequate sleep and not be overburdened with heavy chores disguised as character-building.
Tasks given to children should promote responsibility, teamwork, and an appreciation of the value of work without crossing the line into child labour. The absence of school routines must never be exploited to normalise exploitative practices.
The writer is a Senior Child Protection Officer at PEAS Uganda.
