The final lecture at the Parenthood Seminar, organized by the "Petar Mandic" Endowment in August 2023 in Nova Varos, was dedicated to the topic "Healthy Family: The Foundation of Every Society".

The Sixth Lecture on Parenting

The lecturer, Dr. Vlajko Panovic, conducted an analysis of the family structure as the primary building block of a healthy society, comparing the classical family with the contemporary one, which he noted is currently in crisis.

Dr. Panovic emphasized that the modern family has lost the ability for selective information filtering from the external world, akin to the selective permeability of materials through the membranes of healthy cells. He examined the family first structurally and then functionally.

As a significant structural flaw in the modern family, he pointed out the frequent absence of fathers and an uneven distribution of roles within the family, "especially when involving children in real-life situations". As he observed, organizing time becomes increasingly challenging, and there is often rivalry among parents, hindering the development of basic security in children.

Dr. Panovic also highlighted the lack of cohesion in the modern family, an imbalanced relationship with children, and inconsistency in parenting. He particularly emphasized proper naming for the development of a stable identity.

The communication mediation (through electronic messages) and inadequate dialogue form, dominated by monologue rather than genuine exchange, were also areas of concern raised by Dr. Panovic.

He addressed the attitude towards children's obligations at school, stating that the best reward for a child's success is not grades or material incentives but the joy of parents. He stressed that children enjoy responsibilities because, when they accomplish something, it is followed by praise, and hence, children should not be shielded from work, turning them into lazy individuals. As he observed, through work, children prepare for a challenging yet beautiful life, and this beauty needs to be discovered.

One of the problems Dr. Panovic highlighted is that through the media, we often "push children to grow up" instead of giving them the opportunity to understand the reality of life in the right way, face life facts, find themselves, develop their potentials, and enjoy life instead of being in constant excitement.

Another topic Dr. Panovic drew attention to is our relationship with time. He emphasized that the number of events and information has increased, which we are unable to process and emotionally handle.

He pointed out the trap of returning to the past and asking "why" questions, where blame is usually placed on parents, depleting human resources for adaptation and gradually leading to depression. Dr. Panovic mentioned that the best remedy for this state, alongside psychotherapy, is confession and repentance, to relieve oneself from a past over which one has no control.

A quality exchange of opinions with the audience followed the lecture.

At the end of the lecture, the President of the Board of the "Petar Mandic" Endowment, Nikola Puric, on behalf of the Endowment, presented a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Panovic for his contribution to the affirmation of parenting schools.