The ability to parent well is not necessarily intuitive – an individual’s parenting style is influenced by aspects of his or her own history, personality and temperament, together with characteristics of the child, such as age or temperament. Class, culture, religion and neighbourhood or community also shape parenting practices. Better Parenting Nigeria can help.

Better Parenting Nigeria is a discussion peer learning and sharing model. Exchange is promoted by a parenting facilitator posing questions, guiding the discussion and emphasizing good practices, encouraging participation, praising examples of good parenting, and gently correcting information if negative advice is shared. In its original form, Better Parenting was developed, pre-tested, implemented and evaluated in Ethiopia. The programme showed evidence of significant positive change in parenting knowledge, improved adult-child communication and a reduction in harsh discipline. It was subsequently adapted for Uganda and then Nigeria.

Better Parenting Nigeria (BPN) can be used for short-session group discussions, as well as for one-on-one guidance in the home. Additional topics were added to the Better Parenting curriculum in accordance with the strategic objectives of the Coordinating Comprehensive Care for Children Project Nigeria in 2016. The pictures were changed to fit the Nigerian context. After use in 33 states in Nigeria and feedback from all facilitators, caregivers and children were collated. The Nigeria model was reduced to 20 sessions with optional modules on early childhood development and parenting adolescents. The model includes the Facilitator’s Manual, Community Discussion Guide, a Training Supplement and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

The Facilitator’s Manual is for the facilitator to use to support the community discussions, provide targeted messaging, and recommend suggestions for knowledge and experience sharing. It should be used hand-in-hand with the Community Discussion Guide.