They say the only thing constant is change. However, when that change becomes negative it becomes a thing of concern.
For those of us born before the late 90s, we can see how fast our environment and the world at large has changed from what we use to know and I could say part of this major change can be attributed to technology. We know that technology has its advantages, it also came with a lot of disadvantage that not many people could handle hence they indulge.
While most of these social vices we see today has existed amongst us from time memorial, you will agree with me that it is not as rampant or accepted as what we have today and if we connect the dots to see where it all started from, we’d notice that the home front has been compromised. We have parents who couldn’t move with trend and lost grip of their children, we have parents who due to age cannot assert the same measure of discipline they exerted in their old children in the younger ones. I have always opposed that how a child turns out is greatly determinr by their parents before the environment they get exposed to when they come of age.
Back then, parents knew their jobs and primary responsibilities. They know that there is a time for everything and children were guided to grow according to their age but today you will see teenagers and you’d start wondering are these adults?
The kind of hair extensions they carry, perfume they wear and phone they use me in my adult life cannot afford it and these are children who have no source of livelihood.
A child will come home with something the parents know they cannot afford but they will turn a blind eye. When I was growing up if my parents see you with any item they did not buy for you no matter how cheap, you will explain where you got from and they will follow you to go and return it. We were taught to be contended and grow within our pace.
It just seem that the more parents age, the more corrupt the society gets. I know for a fact that the hand I was raised with is not the same the younger generations are being raised with. Moral decadence started from the very late 90s/2000 I think they call them genZ and while we want to make a joke of how woke and exposed they are, our society bears the brunt.
There’s this girl that stayed briefly with us while we were growing up, but my mother had to send her back to her mom because of some wild character she was exhibiting. One time the mother called me she was arrested and when I asked her for details of the arrest, she said their hostel off campus was raided by the police.But after my own investigation, I discovered this girl works in a strip club as a stripper and the government was clamping down on their activities hence the arrest but then the mother wasn’t having it and kept saying her daughter is a decent girl who can never resort to stripping. Same girl that uses the latest iphone of over a million Naira you did not buy for her and she is not working.
Well the girl was eventually released and continued in her activities regardless. When she comes home she comes with skin cut and baggy clothes but in school she tints her hair. If the mother was proactive in her primary responsibilities, I’m sure the girl would have turned out differently.
We owe it to society to continue from where our parents stopped but how could we? We are so engrossed in the pursuit of wealth and social activities that we do not even know what goes on in our children’s life.
The other day a lady was looking for a 6:30am - 7:00pm day care she can put her toddler and then I asked her what time do you have to be a mother because at that stage the child needs all the love and care not been kept at the hands of a stranger for the better part of the day and then she said she has to work and her job is 7am to 6pm. While I am compassionate towards her plight and I understand that we need to earn to get the best from life, I don’t think it should be at the expense of our children.
When my job was getting the better part of me up to the point I got reported for negligence to the school authority by my child’s teacher I knew the job had to go. What is the negligence? I’m failing to guide my child in her assignment or checkmate her to be sure the assignments are being done. Now when few people that are close to me ask why did you quite job and I tell them they get upset and go why didn’t you just change her school are you a teacher? Is it your responsibility to teach your child? My response is akways Yes! A teacher’s job becomes easy and the child evolves better and faster intellectually when the parent or parents get involved in the child’s education.
Growing up, there was a time my teacher flogged me because I corrected her when she said 8/4 = 4 I told her the answer was two not 4 and she flogged me that I am wrong. During inspection of my school work, my parents saw the blunder and I narrated what happened, they visited my school the next day to see the proprietress and that teacher was dismissed.
Getting involved in our children’s life is a right we owe them and the society at large.
This is all I have to say for my entry to the hive learners prompt week 104 edition 3.
All pictures were created by me using Nightcafe studio