Parents who raise their children to appreciate material possessions over love and hard work have been reminded that they are only setting their children’s growth and worldview on a negative path.
The wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo made this known while speaking with members of the women’s wing of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), at the governor’s lodge Amawbia.
ASATU is the umbrella body of all town unions in the state and the women’s wing comprises leaders of the women’s arm of the town unions across all communities of the state.
Addressing the women, Mrs. Soludo regretted that most parents have heaped undue pressure on their children by pushing them to prioritize material gains over basic values of life, leading them into immoral choices such as ritualism, drug peddling, prostitution, armed robbery, and other heinous crimes.
She said in pursuit of these inordinate cravings of their parents, many children have made immoral choices just to feel involved in their homes and communities.
According to Mrs Soludo, “The increasing emphasis on wealth as a major yardstick for social recognitions should be controlled as it is the leading cause of pursuit of riches by any means.
“It is today a worrisome trend that the basic values like love, respect, kindness, and hard work have been struggling amid rising social decadence, forcing homes and communities to deal with issues of restiveness and crimes.
“Increasing negative child-raising indoctrinations have eclipsed the traditional methods of raising a child, which combined education and discipline.
“It must be made clear, that parents who raise their children to appreciate material possessions over love and hard work, have not only set a very wrong standard for parenting but have set the child’s growth and worldview on a bad path.”
The Anambra First Lady called for a renewed social consciousness to tackle the negative outcomes.
She further asked parents to invest more time in teaching their children the values of love, kindness, and hard work and dwell less on possessions and acquisition of wealth
The governor’s wife also said that while the home has a lot to do in correcting the ugly trend, the entire society should take the lead in ensuring that it does not ruin its future.
“Parents must rise to this challenge because it must start from the home. The idea of blaming your child’s misbehavior on the teachers or society is very wrong because your child is a reflection of what you teach him or her.
“Irrespective of what that child sees or meets outside the home, if the home training is thorough, they will not deviate. Even the Bible made it clear.
“The society, on the other hand, also has a role to play in correcting the children when they go wrong.
“The practice of communal child upbringing where anyone can correct another’s child must be encouraged because as a parent, you will not be everywhere every time.
“So, when another mother scolds your child for any wrongdoing, you don’t take a war to them for doing so, but sit back and advise your child appropriately,” she advised.
Mrs. Soludo also talked about the negative influence of some home movies on children and asked parents and guardians to monitor what their children and wards watch at all times.
She also encouraged movie actors and producers to ensure that the content they push out for public view, does not in any way, endorse a negative lifestyle.
According to her, “Even when there is a need to showcase such, it must also reflect the futility in such behaviors so that the young ones are not misled.”
