Chandrababu calls for revival of joint family system

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday underscored the need to revive India’s traditional joint family system, describing it as one of the country’s greatest social strengths while calling for greater participation of fathers in raising children.

The Chief Minister made the remarks after administering polio drops to children at his camp office as part of the State-wide Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme. He later interacted with children and their parents, enquiring about their health, vaccination status and upbringing, while urging parents to ensure that every child receives all government-recommended vaccinations on time.

According to officials from the Health and Family Welfare Department, Andhra Pradesh has set a target of administering Pulse Polio drops to nearly 49.2 lakh children below the age of five during the three-day immunisation drive that commenced on Sunday.

During his interaction with families, Chandrababu spoke about the changing social structure and the challenges faced by working parents in bringing up children. He observed that the traditional joint family system had played a vital role in nurturing children by providing emotional support, guidance and values through grandparents and extended family members.

“The joint family system was one of our greatest strengths. It helped shape children with values and emotional security. Such a system should make a comeback,” the Chief Minister said.

Emphasising that childcare is a shared responsibility, Chandrababu said parenting should not be viewed as the sole responsibility of mothers. He called upon fathers and other family members to actively participate in raising children, stating that stronger family support systems contribute significantly to children’s overall development.

The Chief Minister also noted that attitudes towards having children are changing in society and stressed that children should be viewed as a source of happiness and strength rather than a burden. Reiterating the State government’s commitment to creating a family-friendly environment, he said awareness campaigns are being undertaken to encourage families to have two or more children.

Officials from the National Health Mission (NHM), including Director of Secondary Health K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu, participated in the programme. The Pulse Polio campaign is being conducted across Andhra Pradesh with the objective of ensuring that every child below five years of age is protected against polio through universal immunisation.