By Sam Otti

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A lecturer in the Department of Education Psychology, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Otto-Ijanikin, Lagos State, Dr. Ayo Daodu, has stressed the need for effective parenting of children to make them socially responsible. He said parents should create more talking time with their children in order to pull down the walls of silence that breed fear, division and distrust among family members.
Daodu made the appeal, while addressing parents, teachers and students at the Family Day celebration of Loral International Boarding Primary School, Igbesa, Ogun State, held recently.
Speaking on the topic, Parenting in the 21st century, he expressed regrets that several parents spend more time outside the home in search of daily bread, while others get trapped for hours in gridlock, thereby limiting their physical presence in their various families.
“If parents fail in their parenting function, it has multiple serious, damaging and destructive effects to the family, the child and the society at large,” he said.
Daodu noted that school curriculum had been repackaged and enlarged in recent time, which had enlarged the knowledge available to children and urged parents to brace up with the challenges of the information age. According to him, issues about sex discussed in low tones in the past now dominate social media circles with school children playing leading roles as major subscribers.
He said the rapid explosion in social media had unleashed tons of uncensored information on children. This development, he argued, posed a great challenge to effective parenting, especially for those parents that lack knowledge of the tools of social media.
“Educate or upgrade yourself, especially on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet. Enter into the world of your children,” he advised.
Daodu also kicked against hostile parenting, noting that the ‘bark and bite approach’ to child upbringing could induce fear and alienate children from their parents.
“Adopt friendly parenting style. See your child or children as your best friend. Don’t present yourself as a ‘lion parent’ to be afraid of by your children, ” he explained.
Rather than scare away their children, Daodu advised parents to motivate and encourage these young ones whenever they exhibit creative skills and perform well in their academic work. Such encouragements, he said, could come in the form of pleasant surprises, oral commendation, gifts and other rewards.
Also speaking, the Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Christiana Oraka, said the management of the school introduced the Family Day celebration to strengthen the bond between parents and their children.
She explained that the loss in family values have negative and lasting impact on children. According to her, broken families and those in disarray often result to juvenile delinquencies that constitute a cog in the wheel of children’s development.
“We shall therefore strengthen the family so as to eliminate crime. A child that grows in a loving family is likely to be a good citizen, strong families build a strong nation”, she empasised.
Oraka called for strengthening of human relationship by bonding with neighbouring families, breaking barriers of race, colour, religion in order to build a strong community laid on the foundation of mutual love and common brotherhood.
She said the programme would enable the school to maintain a passionate single-minded commitment to building the tender life of a child from nursery, through primary to secondary levels; developing them into men and women of strong character and personality.
To educate parents on the power of motivation on children, the school unveiled a primary school pupil, Miss Chisom Ezenwammadu, who was crowned Miss Loral 2016 for her outstanding academic ability and leadership qualities.