Parents urged to ‘love their children more’

PHUKET: A government psychologist has urged parents to give their children more love and care in order to prevent them shacking up with girlfriends or boyfriends. Psychologist Pariyat Saengthat’s comments came in the wake of a survey by the local Provincial Public Welfare Office (PPWO) of 16- to 25-year-olds, conducted last month. K. Pariyat, who works with the PPWO, told the Gazette that the biggest increase in numbers of youngsters cohabiting was among university and college students. “Phuket has a lot of schools, colleges and universities, with many students coming from other provinces,” she explained. The most worrying aspect of young people cohabiting, she added, was that it could affect their studies, resulting in the students graduating late or even dropping out. Another problem, she said, was that of unplanned pregnancies among young people, which conflicted with Thai culture. “Parents have the greatest potential to solve this problem,” she said. “They should check on their children’s behavior often, and give them plenty of love and care, because these are risky years.”