My name is Favour Tom. I am an eighteen-year-old teenager who is still experiencing the grips of life. Growing up, I have noticed how my parents trained me and how their training me differs from how most parents train their children. After all, everyone has their different ways of doing things. But, one thing I know is that, if a child chooses to be bad, he/she will be bad no matter the kind of training you give to them, but as parents, don't give up on reprimanding them when necessary.
Like I said, I'm an eighteen-year-old teenager, and me telling parents how they should train their kids would be somewhat disrespectful. So, I'd rather share with you how I would train my children when I become a parent.
Firstly, I will talk about how I would train my male child since I wish my first child should be a boy!! Boys are remarkable set of children. They can be very stubborn and lazy, yes! That is if I let them get used to being lazy. The moment my son turns three, I will make him learn how to do house chores in my presence and in my absence.
I will teach my son about coitus. Not in the broad sense but in the most simple way a child should understand. I will tell him to be careful of his private parts, which I will show him. I will tell him to know that he is supposed to shout whenever anyone tries to touch or even touches them. A lot of people believe girls are the most molested victims. But that is not true; sometime ago in the former compound we resided at, a boy was constantly molested by one of the female tenants. She used to call the boy's mother my "in-law," as many people do over here where I come from___It's just another way of relating with people. What the boy's mother and every other person did not know was, each time she calls this boy into her room with the pretext to send him on an errand or play a movie on her phone for him, she molests him. Not until one day when the boy's mother, according to her statement to the police, heard arousal sounds coming from the lady's room. Skeptic as to what was going on,she peeped through the window and saw the unthinkable between her five years old son with a mid thirty years old lady.
You can imagine a five-year-old boy going through such an experience. If that boy is not properly counselled after such an experience, he may have the wrong view about the female gender even though not all females are that way and could even turn out to be a molester.
It is better to let my son know at the age of two or three that his private parts are sacred and should not be tampered with by anyone, and if such is about to happen, he should shout for help because, you see, I may not always be with him. Moreover, we are already in a corrupt world. So, if I don't tell him, he will still learn about it from other people, and it could be in the worst way ever, like the boy in the former place we stayed.
I will teach my son to know what he wants and be confident about it even though his friends mock him. I have seen boys, guys who have swerved from what they had in mind to do because of the ridicule they received from their friends. I don't know why! But males have this habit of ridiculing their peers even with serious things.
These are not all that I intend to teach my male child, as I have a lot in mind for him, but I will share the next, not the last, thing I will teach him.
I will teach him how to respect girls. At the age of twelve, he would be fully aware of what puberty really is. I will tell him not to act disgusted if he notices a girl stained during her flow. Rather, he should tell her if she is unaware, and if need be, help her get a tampon. I'm really going to be honest with us. This is not a hidden thing. I mean, gone are those days when men did not or acted oblivious about the cycle of women. All I will do is teach him about these things.
That way, my son will grow up to not just be a man who is the head of a family. But the kind who is responsible and understands the life cycle of women who are the bedrock of generations
Coming to my female child. The first thing I would do is give her a room separate from her brother's so she could have her privacy, especially during puberty and adolescence.
Teach her about her private parts. Teach her to use her magic word. Teach her to respect both genders, as everyone, no matter what gender they belong to, deserves respect. I will emphasize the need to work hard for what she wants rather than being dependent, although there are times we rely on people, but making that a habit because you believe as a girl you should be catered to is wrong. Teach her to prioritize the things that are essential to her over things that are not. I will constantly remind her that dressing indecently does not make a woman beautiful. Hence, modesty is the true definition of beauty.
Finally, I would embrace all my children with equal love. As a parent, I will not prejudice my children. I will make them know that they are all special in their own ways. Teach them to love themselves and be there for each other no matter what.
Children are all unique and special. They don't deserve the unfair treatment of prejudice from their parents.
Plus, they should be enlightened about the dealings of life at an early stage otherwise, the world would help the parents. Which may not turn out well.