Mistakes are a common phenomenon in our daily lives. It is impossible to live a life void of flaws in a world full of uncertainties. As humans, we are sometimes swayed by our emotions, and external factors which most times ends in regrettably actions, actions that could have been avoided if only we ceased control of ourselves. There are mistakes that are unavoidable, and those that are avoidable. The longer we live, the older we get, and with age comes experience of so many sorts. It is imperative as a sentient being to avoid occasions of mistakes that you already have experience of. This is why kids are taught and educated, and adults are expected to proper educate and indoctrinate the kids on life’s expectancies and how to avoid most of life’s avoidable misfortunes.
Some principles of proper child education
Child education is important, and parents are the first instructors kids encounter from the moment they are born, so as a parent it is your sole duty to raise your child right, following the principles of morality, responsibility and sincerity. It is the nature of Man to be flawed, but it is also our nature to strive to be better. This implies that no parent is perfect, and believe me parenting isn’t an easy task, but it is imperative to put the child’s welfare as primary. Parents are the first role models of children, they want to sound and behave like their parents, so parents should be mindful of their actions around their kids.
1. Teach children morality, responsibility, decency, and sincerity at the early stages of their lives, because it gets difficult when they get older. Don’t be afraid to punish your child when they do wrong, it instills the right form of discipline inside them and sets a boundary to what they can and can’t do. If a child is unafraid of anything and anyone, they become reckless, and that’s dangerous.
2. The older a child gets, make them realize that there are consequences for mistakes, that not everyone is privileged with a second chance. Always endeavor to know your child’s friends and peer group, they can immensely influence your child.
3. Teach your child the importance of good behavior and its reward, also the rewards of bad behavior. Use real life situations of past experiences to make them realize the point you are making.
4. It is wrong as a parent to let your child that still lives under your roof, who relies on you for their daily needs, to bring home a supposed boyfriend or girlfriend. This is a problem with this current generation of parents. Most condone and overlook these behaviors, where a teenager is bold enough to present their boyfriend or girlfriend to their parents, and the parents welcome them. It is naive to perceive such young relationships as casual or nothing worrisome. Welcoming their partner is a clear acceptance of any consequences that comes with this relationship, be it pregnancy, heartbreak, abortion, STD etc. Morality entails that as teens, their priorities should be on self development, not sex and relationships. There is time for everything.
5. Most young adults who have lost track of their destination in life, were victims of bad parenting and oversight. The pressure to become part of the trend, is the cause of the high level of our society’s moral decay. Peer pressure, societal pressure and social status are one of the major reasons why parents are unable to parent right, and kids are growing up void of the proper principles and ethics of a civilized society. Boys should be taught by their fathers manliness, duty, responsibility and respect especially for the opposite gender. Girls should be taught by their mothers the importance of modesty, decency, and respect for themselves and also for the opposite gender.
6. Having a plan for your child is pivotal in their upbringing. Most successful people today are those whose parents had plans for their future and laid the foundation for their dreams. All plans mustn’t be money intensive, it could be simple routines and activities that are done as a family or for the individual kids to encourage and promote some vital skills. This can induce responsibility, independence and creativity.
Parenting is challenging, that’s why it takes two to make a baby. Kids deserve to be raised by both their parents, it is their right. In cases where parents are incapable of parenting, the society or the governing body in the state should assume this role and provide the necessary welfare.
Children are gifts from God, but if they are not raised right, they become problems for the society.
By Emmanuel I. Orindu
Emmalase