MAKE THE HOME A HAVEN FOR CHILDREN

As the saying goes, "Charity begins at home", so does the child from a good home have the likelihood of greater opportunities in life. The home or family is the first point of socialization of the child. The better he or she is treated at home, the happier and easier life is for the child.

It is quite worrying the kinds of homes children grow up in these days. We see a lot of chaos in our society today due to the places we have allowed children grow up. One key factor is that these places are mostly not conducive enough to raise children.

House helps in homes:
Most children do not wake up to see their biological parents these days. These parents have employed house helps who play the parental roles in the lives of children. Meanwhile, parents spend all the time at work to the neglect of the well being of their children. In the end, they pick up negative behaviors such as stealing, disobedience, fornication, telling lies just to mention but a few. Some even torture these children through beatings and child labour. This is due to the fact that these house helps are not able to handle them appropriately.

I witnessed an instance when a younger cousin of mine took to sneaking out at night to meet her boyfriend. This happened for a long time until she was caught one day. Apparently, the house help who was supposed to keep an eye on her always allowed the boy in question to visit her at home regularly (in the absence of her parents). And since the house help closed the doors at night, she allowed my cousin to sneak out most times and opened the doors for her when she returned.If any parent will need the services of an house help, they should equally be around most of the times to supervise what happens in the home.

Broken homes:
Again, broken homes and single parenting has become the order of the day. What happened to couples staying in the marriage above all odds for the love of their children(an object of their love)? I must say firmly at this point that I am strongly against divorce under any circumstance (especially when there are kids involved). The alarming rate of divorce is quite pathetic because it no longer provides the children the needed environment to grow positively.

Alot of children raised by single parents are mostly unhappy and depressed. The frustrations and hurts of the partner who caters for the child, are directly and indirectly channelled to the innocent child. These children sometimes suffer severe beatings, child labour, rape, insecurity and no sense of belonging.

7 out of 10 children who grow in such homes become wayward and independent at a tender age. This is because that one parent can never play two roles in the child's life. They give up too soon when the weight becomes heavier on them. At this point, the child becomes the master of their own lives. Parents who see signs of inconvenience in bringing up their children in such homes can ask other competent relatives to cater for the child until they are back up on their feet.

Disorganised homes:
Another area of concern is a disorganised home. Here, I mean a home where the members are not morally or socially upright. Some homes house all manner of people such as drug addicts, prostitutes, fraudsters, and the likes. This is mostly typical of slums and compound houses. However, a parent should be able to scrutinize a place before going to live there with their children.

If the environment poses a threat for the child, it must be changed.

Otherwise, the child may as well be moved out of such a place to avoid corrupting his or her behavior. Remember, children pick up traits in their immediate environment as they grow up. Therefore, the kind of place they grow up in can play very significant role in their lives.

The appropriate home for a child is one that encourages him or her to become the best of who they can be. Any person who plays the parental role of the child must try as much as possible to make them happy. A happy child is mostly a healthy, smart and productive child.

I will be very glad if the institutions in charge of child cases will take up the challenge of ensuring the happiness of children growing up. DOVVSU, Social welfare and development, the various orphanages, teachers, and the immediate family must rise up to the course of promoting safe and sound environment for children.

Do not forget also that for a child, good parents or guardians, healthy meal, comfortable clothes, playing and play materials, quality education, and a happy home(no matter where), are prerequisite for a happy living.