Ask questions, it is very important...
During the festive season, I met some people and we had several discussions, one led to another but they were random discussions about things going on around us in the society.
A man shared a life story of a 19-year-old boy and his older brother who bought two vehicles worth #8million ( $16k) for their dad and he is happy driving it around without investigating how they got the money for the vehicle. It could be wrong or right source but he must be certain to avoid problems in the future.
Aside from children misbehaving these days, I believe the parent patting them for doing inappropriate things or showing a nonchalant attitude towards their behavior has escalated the problems we see among the teenagers and youth today.
Today, a girl I use to know who is just sixteen years of age posted porn content on a WhatsApp status and she caption it with "I and my boo, someday". Lots of questions struck my mind immediately I saw the status and I replied to her immediately asking why she would post such, I asked again if her parents do not have her WhatsApp number. She answered with, "it is nothing sir. Mum, dad, and my siblings don't see my status". I couldn't press further so I just quit the chat immediately because I wasn't finding it cool.
It wasn't the first time I would see such, another girl did something similar a long time ago. She went to a party, smoking, and drinking.
She recorded and posted it on her status, I was closer to this one so I questioned her and she said " I was only having fun". I mentioned that she was too young and she made it clear that she is an adult @19, her dad is a politician and he will be mad if he sees that so I brought her dad into the discussion.
I reminded her that dad would be mad at her if he sees such and she said, I blocked them already.
The electronic gadget has given children extra freedom today and this has led many of them astray because their parents refuse to ask questions. You might be wondering what asking questions have to do with monitoring a child, I am certain you will understand before the end of the article.
As a child, I had a bit of a sight issue but I was so stubborn that I always avoid taking treatment for it. There was a time I got free eye tests in school and free glasses but I didn't use them because I hated them.
This made me slow when writing notes plus my handwriting was terrible so I usually write slowly. Due to my shortcomings, I usually borrow my classmate's notes home to complete mine and whenever my mom sees it, she usually asks questions and scolds me if there is a need for that.
I can't go home with what doesn't belong to me, once she sees it and I don't have any reasonable explanation for having it in my possession, I am in a big problem.
Lots of parents today overlook things they aren't supposed to and the outcomes are becoming a threat not just to them but to the future of society. With the social apps out there, things are getting crazier. As a parent, it is your responsibility to oversee everything going on in your children's life, freedom and privacy are words we use to condone nonsense.
They decide to let the kids be and overlook things all in the name of not intruding on their privacy, it is better to intrude now and know peace later because the freedom and privacy you are giving them today can haunt you when you are supposed to be resting at old age.
What would it take a parent to ask their child why they can't see their Facebook profile, why they don't see their status on WhatsApp, why they can't access their page on many social apps. These are minor questions truly but they can help curb lots of terrible happenings in the future if we take the right action immediately.
It is a common act among teenagers, the first thing they do lately is block their family members from seeing their profile because of the immoral things they want to share. It doesn't end with the social platforms, parents shouldn't overlook things even in reality.
Who is he/she?
Where have you been all day/night?
Where did you get money to purchase that?
Why are you dressed like that?
You are skipping meals lately, why?
You didn't return home, where were you last night?
These are questions that can expose a lot of things if you pay attention to the response the kids give back but it is so unfortunate that some parents smile at these things and even pat their kids for doing things they are not capable of.
We see lots of atrocities out there being displayed by the youth, it didn't start on the day they were caught but it grew to that level because many parents out there refused to ask the right questions.
You might be tagged as a nagging parent, it is for your good, and these things must be done with love because these kids are smart. Disciplining or scolding a child should be done with love else it would turn out terribly.
Thanks for reading.
This is so true, the parents of today also don't understand all the risks of technology - by the time the child is 12 the child knows more about social media and phones than the parents. It's sad that there are so many children who get abducted, abused and murdered because of these types of things.