No one will ever want to taste a decaying fruit be it an apple, pineapple, orange or even an avocado pear. The reason is that the fruit has lost its freshness and sweetness. Some will go a long way to carefully select and remove any decaying fruit from their basket of fruit because it does not only smell, it attracts flies and in that way, the other good fruits might be affected. This and many other reasons are why any decaying fruit is unwanted. Let us make a connection between the decaying fruit and our society. We all know and understand that the society we live in is experiencing a lot of changes either in the area of fashion, music, lifestyle or even the kind of names parents give to their children. These changes especially in the area of fashion and naming have greatly been influenced by the African affiliation with Western culture. In today African communities, people have consolidated the lifestyle of the Western world into their norms and this has given rise to decay in the cultural values of an average African child.
The reason behind this article
What I saw today was an eyesore which should not be in the public domain not just because it is very awful but because if other kids should set their eyes on it, it may lead them into practising such a thing due to the adventurous nature of children. I would have shared the video here but for the sake of human sanity and the fact that pornography is against the rule of this platform. I cannot be able to explain how I felt when I saw the video of these young girls of 6 years old doing despicable things. To cut the long story short, these girls were naked on camera as they were in their different homes showing off their private parts and even trying an insertion into the private parts. I must tell you, in all my life till today and even as I am writing this article, I have never had such nausea feeling before. My stomach was practically spinning like I was going to vomit my entire intestine.
What could be the cause of such an act?
This was the first question that rushed through my mind as soon as I set my eyes on the video. Let me ask you; what would say might be the cause of such a despicable act by those two young girls? Should I say it’s the society, the internet or even negligence on the side of parents? I am completely out of words to express the entirety of what I have in my mind but for the sake of this article and for parents to learn and look deeper into what their kids do when they are not around, I will try to answer some of the above questions.
The Society
Our moral standards have been greatly shaken off their roots and foundations, this is why society no longer frown on things that were seen as evil back in the days. I remember back in the days when I was growing up, I could not and was not allowed to own a phone even at age 17. It was not because my parents could not afford a phone for me rather it was because they knew that I needed to focus more on my studies. I could remember vividly as a child that I could not walk into any store to buy an egg even though it was an essential part of a Child's daily need. The reason was that people saw the egg as something so sweet that any child seen buying or eating an egg without the parent or guardian around is assumed to have stolen the money. As ridiculous as that may sound, it was the principle that guided us as kids back in the days especially in Igbo land the Eastern part of Nigeria. Today you can see a child walk into a fast food or even shopping mall with other young female friends of his and they will buy things as they want with no one asking them where and how they got the money from.
Just like the late Chinua Achebe will say “things fall apart, the centre cannot hold”. These kids now do things the way they want without anyone trying to question them, because everybody believes that the best way to train a child is by using the Western style, meanwhile, it does not work for us in the African continent because of our strong beliefs and cultural values.
The Internet
I have had a cross-section of persons talk about the negativity the internet has brought to the world, but I will not just completely accuse the internet as the reason why we are witnessing strong moral decadence in our societies. Even though I understand that the internet has a lot of things that can go wrong in the life of a child, there are also millions of positive things a child can learn from the internet. My question is; how can the internet be controlled especially when it concerns the children? This is what the world leaders and governments should be looking into at this point because the rate at which the internet is being misused is on a high increase and if care is not taken, there will be a time when the internet will be completely used for nothing other than negativity. In most of the TV cable stations, decoders and even movies, parental guidance is announced which gives the parents a heads up to the kind of content they about to watch. Now the problem is that when the parents are not around and these kids make use of the internet, how can parental guidance be enforced? This is the question that must be answered in a bid to rescue our world from getting to that era where nothing will be seen as evil again.
The Parents
The worst problem that has befallen our society is hunger and want. This has made most parents forget their roles as parents because they are always focused on making money forgetting that without proper guidance, a child can turn the entire wealth they have gotten into ruins within a short period. The level of negligence has become so annoying that even the children understand that their parents do not care about what they do or even what they become. What baffles me in the case of these two 6-year-olds was that the parents may be very ignorant about the lifestyle their children have copied.
The pertinent question to ask is; how possible is it that parents do not know when there is a change in the life of their children? Back in the days, I could remember how my mother will call me into the room just to ask me questions once she notices that my mood changed. Even though it might be nothing, she will always ask and this made it so hard for me to misbehave because I was afraid she will notice any foul play.
Nowadays, how many parents sit down with their kids as a way to have a heart to heart discussion with them? This is seen more in the Western world although the children have the right to listen to what their parents say or not. In Africa today, kids especially the girl child gets to know and practice sex even at such a very young age and I believe that this is so because a continent where infant marriage is allowed cannot support child-right act. Parental negligence has become the bedrock of the decay in our society and like a fruit seller who will take his time to pick out the decaying fruits from the basket of good fruits, to avoid the good ones being infected and to chase flies away. The parents and every single person in this world must join hands to pick out the decaying fruits before it contaminates the whole basket of fruit. A stitch in time saves nine, do not let our today mistakes ruin our tomorrow. Stay safe. I love you.
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I feel furious about the two six-year-old girls I can't also really imagine at that age they would do things like that! What were the parents doing to turn this girl like that! I wish their parents should guide them too and not just focused on work but they need to check about their child too. This is the sad reality that we cannot change that children nowadays became more active most especially using the internet and in that case, they could learn something that could ruin their images. So we should not blame anyone but the parents, because it's their responsibility to look after their child. I wish it won't happen anymore!