How To Protect Your Child’s Innocence In This Morally Bankrupt World
The world is rapidly developing. While that is kind of a good thing, the negativity that comes with that is just what you don’t want for your child.
Imagine the kind of stories making news on popular forums and news websites in Nigeria and around the world.
If it’s not the story of a 45-year old aunty taking advantage of a young boy of 12, it is that of a 25, 30 or 40-year old uncle luring a girl of 11 years to bed.
You also hear of stories of kids (mostly age mates) doing things that even adults refrain from.
Also Read: Common Causes Of Disabilities In Children
If such stories ever bother you as a parent or guardian, here are practical tips on how to protect your child’s innocence till they’re old enough to know their left from their right.
1. Teach Your Kids Not To Peep Through People’s Windows (Especially That Of Neighbours)
Most kids do this. You can be in your room while they are coming back from school and suddenly some kid’s face just shows up on your window. What they’re looking for is what I don’t know.
Apart from the fact that this act is very rude, they could end up seeing what their eyes are not meant to see at that stage in life. Things like a couple sharing intimate moments, watching pornography or carelessly lying naked.
Such scenarios can create mental images in their heads that will take years to go. And with those images comes an urge to “try” what those persons were doing to see how it feels.
2. Create Healthy Emotional Connections With Your Child. Let Them Feel Loved At Home
Have you ever heard stories of kids who ran away from home and later became pregnant from one guy on the streets at a young age?
60 percent of the time, the primary reason they do that is because they’re from homes where they don’t feel truly loved.
Do not just tell your kids you love, show them. And do not just show them, tell them. You have no idea how powerful our eyes and ears are when it comes to creating emotional connections!
Make it a point of duty to regularly tell them how much you love them, how blessed you are to have them as your kids and also show that in your actions. Be genuinely interested in how their day went. Be interested in their gists and plays, not just their homeworks. Be their friends first before being their teacher!
That way, there’s practically nothing they can’t discuss with you. Even things you may not make a meaning of at the beginning. You can easily spot red lights during those convo times.
Take note of the Aunty they said shouted upon seeing their manhood while bathing them or helping them change their clothes. The brother they said told them they are getting ripe shouldn’t be ignored too.
3. Teach Them That No “Touchy Touchy” Play Must Involve The Private Parts
This is mostly common when older “spoilt” kids play with younger naive kids. Games that involves touching of body parts like Hide and Seek, Catch Me If You, Pinching, Mama and Papa and so on, are often the easiest way older kids take advantage of younger ones to defile them.
I remember the story someone told us recently. She said they were all watching TV one night with their teenage cousin and their last born, a girl of about 3 years old. All of a sudden, the young girl walked up to that their cousin and said, “Junior come and do me that thing you use to do me on my bombom”
The boy immediately tried to “shush” her but the girl persisted, dragging the boy’s hand to her private part. That was how the boy was caught. According to the boy, it all started through that Mama and Papa play.
4. Teach Them To Report To You Any Teacher Inviting Them To Fetch Water, Peel Melons (Egusi) Or Help Them Cook At Home
Unless your child is taking supervised private lessons at the home of any teacher, no single teacher has the right to invite or take them to their house for anything else.
You have no idea the number of kids that have been badly messed up through going to a teacher’s house to fetch water, peel Egusi or help cook a meal. I mean both boys and girls.
A classmate of mine became gay through that till today. As a young boy, we always thought he was constantly being invited to our class teacher’s house because he knows how to cook. Turns out he was being introduced to pornography, homosexuality and other things at such an early stage.
I’ve already said it several times before that if I ever visit my child one day in school and finds out he’s been sent to the proprietor or one teacher’s house to fetch water, clear grass, peel Egusi or do anything else apart from the academic work I sent him there for, the school will hear it hot from me that very day. Of course that will be the last day he steps in there.
Why do teachers even do that in the first place? Who told them they have the right to do that?
I brought him to school to “learn book”, he can learn to do the other things at home.
5. Teach Them That Virginity Is Still Golden
Let your kids understand that it’s not archaic to be a virgin. Virginity is still golden. While the world may have no reward for that, the trust and peace of mind that comes with it is priceless.
Regardless of how unimportant people try to present it, if you interview 100 people, over 70 percent would wish they either married a virgin or remained one till marriage. And I’m not just talking about teaching your female kids alone, even the boys must be made to know that it is not “kingly” to throw your pearls before swines.
Let me stop here for now so others can contribute. I believe I’ve spoken enough.
Please if you are going to copy this to your blog or share it online, kindly do the needful and attach the source “Infoguider”. It took me hours to write this.
I hope parents will find it useful. I really hope so!