Bringing children up the right way

The orientation children receive early in life, goes a long way in shaping their ideologies, which paves the way for whatever they become in life. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of parents to take part in every aspect of their children’s lives, not allowing them to run wild, and to learn things they […]

The orientation children receive early in life, goes a long way in shaping their ideologies, which paves the way for whatever they become in life. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of parents to take part in every aspect of their children’s lives, not allowing them to run wild, and to learn things they should not know.
Nowadays, we see kids on the roadside alone, without adult supervision. They are left to care for themselves, while their parents are nowhere to be found. Then later on, the same parents are surprised when their kids fall into some kind of trouble with law enforcement agencies or go the further step and become terror to their own society.
Bringing up children is no small feat and we have to be sure that we are absolutely ready to cater to their needs. All children are born “tabula rasa” and are always willing to adopt certain values that are on display around them. It is therefore imminent that parents and guardians do their best to write their own good values and principles on the slate of their children/wards.
Another important thing is unconditional love. No matter how you try to teach a child right from wrong, if you do not love him/her, it is all for nothing. Children are perceptive, if you do not love them wholeheartedly, they will know and also distance themselves from you, while going out to seek that love.
They will search for that love in all the wrong places and they will get it from the wrong crowd. You may convince yourself that you provide for your child and take him/her to the mosque/church and buy gifts and this should be enough. The truth is, it is not enough! You need to create that bond with your child and relate not just as family but also as good friends, you should be able to speak life into their failures, triumphs, weak moments and discouragements.
Some parents have allowed their fear of the world to make them “cage” their kids in the house, leaving no chance for socializing with their mates or even doing certain things like shopping, engaging in sporting activities. The parents feel by doing this, they have solved all “irresponsibility issues” not knowing they are making things worse.
 They refuse to establish trust in their kids, so the kids feel there is no need to honour their parents with their actions. This never ends well because one day, that child will go out of that house and engage in socializing to the extreme and the parents will have to deal with all kinds of consequences that will emanate from actions of their children/wards.
Let us not forget that any child you have trained the way you should, should be given that chance to prove himself. You should also believe that the training they have been given, is enough to guide them through making the best decisions in life and making you proud in the outside world. Devote your material resources, good values, positive words, time and unconditional love towards your kids or lose them to the unreasonable people of our society, who are never in short supply.
Eremionkhale, a youth Corp Member, writes form Minna.