Cut the parents some slack
Two days ago I dropped a short post on noisecash. The post was born out of frustration. I saw some students going for tutorials in preparation for the coming Jamb exam. These students were dressed in such a way that most adults can’t dress in public. That wasn’t the main issue, later in the day, I decided to visit the academy where I do lecture a few years back to see some of the staff and talk about the upcoming exam, know how they are preparing and how I can be of help. I was shocked to see the same set of students I saw earlier at the academy. I went into their class to teach them but after some minutes I realized they were there for so many things but studying was not one of those.
In anger, I went to noisecash and ad made a post talking about how Parents are like a hurdle so many students are waiting to jump. How they plan on leaving home someday just to escape the strict way they are handled. I thought of how so many students in school change immediately they step their feet in the four walls of a school because they believe they are now free.
Yesterday something awful happened, that shook the nation. In fact, two different things happened. Some underage students had sex, recorded it and uploaded it online, also a 15-year-old boy kidnapped kids and sell for money- $10. You can read the full details in this article written by @Jumper-01 and this article by @Olasquare
The general public blamed the school, social media and most importantly parents. I also joined in pointing fingers, especially criticizing the parents of these kids and present-day parents in general. I was angry and went on a long lecture with whoever cared to listen. However, I thought of a family I know. A devoted Christian family close to me. They brought up their children the best way they can and it’s evident in the way their kids behave well in the society expect one who seems to have a soft spot for creating problems. He has been involved in so many social misadventures, name anything bad, his name will surely pop up. Now, I’m sure people who aren't close to the family will blame the parents when they see him doing what he is doing.
I’ve been in a gathering where people were blaming his parents for the way the boy acts and I was forced to defend them. Then I asked myself “Am I not doing the same thing?”. Truly some parents are lagging in their duties as parents, they neglect the kids, they don’t pay attention to little details which might have a huge effect in future but what about those kids that are brought up in the best way possible but chose to be what they are?.
The public is always quick to blame the parents when a child does something bad, but what they fail to realize is that some of these kids are brought up in the right way, they only chose to be what they are. You can take a donkey to the river but you can’t force it to drink water.
We have seen a lot of bad behaviour on social media and the question is what do parents do when they come across such content? What is the right way to handle the situation? I think society is not helping with moulding the child in the right way, instead, they are re-moulding in the wrong way. Parents go to work every day and try their best to be there for their kids. The kids spend more time with other people than with their parents. Social media is another teacher. People show their true colours on social media. There are also lots of examples in history where online content has influenced people to do really bad things.
What can parents do?
Pay more attention to their kids. Listen to the little details, don’t just brush it off as nothing. Pray for your kids. I’m the type that believes in prayers, raising your kids the right way isn’t enough. You need to back it up with prayer so that society’s teaching won’t overthrow your teaching.
Thanks for Reading!
Kids can easily copy what the society told them to do so. That's why right parenting is very important, guard them in a way that they can still learn on their own