THE INFLUENCE OF PARENTING AND THE PLACE OF CHOICE IN EVERY CHILD

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Raising a child is not an easy task at all, and it takes more than just teaching and guiding them. Children learn in various ways; they might know things their parents will never know they are even aware of. With what the world has become lately, a lot of things can influence the path that a child will take in life. If there is one thing I have come to understand when it comes to bringing up a child, it is that parents can only try their best, and they will always have a will of their own. This does not mean the teachings of their parents are in vain; they are always with them, embedded deeply.

Using myself as an example, I had all the freedom I could ever dream of when I was in school, and that didn't make me misbehave or take decisions my parents would not be proud of. In a way, their warnings and lessons always stayed at the back of my mind, keeping me in the right lane at all times. Of course, I could have chosen to turn deaf ears and blind eyes to everything, but I chose not to. At the end of the day, it was my personal decision and will that helped me remain on track.

I have seen children grow up in godly homes with all the right training they need to have a good life, and they deviate from it at the end of the day. I have also seen children who grew up without so much guidance and still chose to lead a great life. What I see here is the concept of 'choice' and parents can only hope their children make the best choices, while they also try their best to put them on the right path. For this new generation of parents, there is even more work to do since a lot of abnormal things have been made totally normal in society.

I have not become a parent yet, but if my child were to grow up and choose to deviate from the path I have put them on, I would definitely not be glad, but I would approach it with maturity. I will sit them down to have a conversation and see things from their point of view. If I am convinced enough, I will support them, and if I am not, I will let them see my point of view without judging theirs or behave in a controlling manner. Looking at religion, for instance, I have a brief story to tell about this:

My dad is a Muslim, and my mom is a Christian. Religion was very confusing for me as a child, but I have always loved Christianity more. I would peep during C.R.S. class when I was still in primary school, and I always did poorly in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Growing older, religion was not stable for me until I got to university. I became a full Christian, and this is not to the knowledge of my dad, even up until now. I plan to sit him down one of these days and have a conversation with him. I don't know what his reaction will be, but I am really hoping he will support me and allow me to choose the religion I most connect with.

Apart from religion, I have read some entries, and the issue of sexuality has been brought up a couple of times. This is something every parent dreads, even as woke as society has claimed to be. I also really will not find it funny if my child says that he feels like another gender or that he or she is attracted to the same gender. See ehn, God forbid x1000000!😂because I don't even know how I will handle such a situation. However, my view on this topic has always been that those people who chose this path made that choice by themselves—they made that choice to be what they are claiming to be!. Whatever you feed your mind grows in it, innit?The first thing I will do is to lecture my children on all these things from the beginning, so their curiosity won't make them start making wrong decisions.

Parenting is not easy at all. May God help us to be amazing parents and worthy role models for them.

Thanks for reading❤️