Sundaymail EditorLife Issues with FGK
CHILDREN are the future, thus we have to bring them up well.
Nothing brings peace and joy to a parent or guardian than a child who exhibits good morals.
We must always make sure that we instil good behaviour in our children so that they become the great leaders we expect them to be.
It is every parent’s desire to raise children who are noble, intelligent, wise, upright and above all have good morals.
Morals are defined as the rules that people use to guide their behaviour and thinking. These are principles of right and wrong.
Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those distinguished as proper and improper.
In “Ethics Unwrapped”, morals are described as prevailing standards of behaviour that enable people to live cooperatively in groups.
Most people tend to act morally and follow societal guidelines and this often requires that they sacrifice their own short-term interests for the benefit of society.
People or entities that are indifferent to right and wrong are considered amoral, while those who do evil acts are considered immoral.
While some moral principles seem to transcend time and culture, generally speaking, morality is not fixed.
Historically, morality has been closely connected to religious traditions, but its significance today is equally important to the secular world.
For example, business and government agencies have codes of ethics that employees are expected to follow. Some philosophers make a distinction between morals and ethics. But many people use the words (morals and ethics) interchangeably when talking about personal beliefs, actions, or principles.
While morals may change over time, they remain the standards of behaviour that are used to distinguish between right and wrong.
However, morals seem to be eroding over the years.
The behaviour of children from the 80s is now different from the new millennium kids. Simple things like the way modern children greet adults, respect parents, teachers and older siblings, has become a cause for concern.
Respect for elders has varnished completely.
Can this be blamed on the advent of new technologies?
lt seems like aunties and uncles no longer have a role in the lives of our kids as Google, WhatsApp, Faccebook and various other social media platforms appear to have replaced them.
Even the way courtship takes place is no longer appropriate. Everything now seems to be done on social media, with little or no involvement of the aforesaid elders.
Back in the day, there would be quite a distance between a girl and a boy strolling on a date. The boy would not even dare touch the girl’s hand or even get close to her esteemed body. The girls too used to respect themselves and their bodies. Proper clothes would be worn to cover the female body properly. But nowadays, the slay queens are parading a wardrobe that leaves nothing to imagination.
The rate at which girls are being impregnated is alarming, signalling that a monster has feasted on our morals.
Our kids no longer see the importance of aunties anymore. When you suggest they get help on dating issues, they snub or openly declare that they do not tolerate interference in their private lives.
Welcome to the new age ladies and gentleman – where morals are a thing of the past!
Both Christian and non-Christian families face similar challenges in raising children. The question of culture and religious affiliation only comes into play when it is time to deal with a given situation.
The Bible says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, the rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
This biblical law is universal for all children, they need correction at some point.
It is therefore the duty and responsibility of parents and guardians to foster good morals in their children’s lives.
But in Christianity, there are ways taught in the Bible on how to address our children’s behaviours at each level of their lives.
We all need to raise God-fearing kids.
The fact that you realise good behaviour from bad, it means you know that good is Godly, and God is the author of good. A huge challenge comes when dealing with peer and media pressures that can negatively influence young people’s personalities.
It’s sad to say that many children nowadays are becoming exactly the opposite of Godly. So where can parents turn for help to raise a God-fearing child?
We cannot find the solution to the erosion of morals in our children if we do not dig up to the root cause.
The usual suspects can be highlighted as: parents who lack values, schools that neglect “character” in education, and general family values degeneration.
It’s unfortunate that adults have been very bad examples of good morals. We must begin to change first and then try to correct our offspring later on.
Children learn more through observation than taking instructions. Thus it is imperative that we exude all good habits of life to our children.
Parenting is clearly a prime instance and both the mother and father should play a major role in guiding their children throughout childhood.
Often the male figure head acts as a beacon to male children and it is the same case with female children when they look at the mother.
John 13:15 says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
The above verse is further buttressed by Proverbs 22:6 which reads, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Children can detect the slightest deviation and hypocrisy no matter how hard parents try to hide them.
The Bible gives us this conclusion on the issue of morals in children. We still need you to scrutinise society and come up with solutions on how we can foster good morals in our children.
We now have the internet, social media and various other online platforms which are replacing parental roles and teaching our children otherwise.
How then can we win back our kids from this technology age? How can we train our children to grow up to be noble and respected individuals in society?
Please send your thoughts and contributions on the issue on platforms provided below.
Quote of the week: It is the duty and responsibility of parents and guardians to foster good morals in their children’s lives.
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Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter