Child's misbehaviour: Blame the society

Greetings!

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Lol

I don't know if it's just in my area or it's everywhere, that children, especially teenagers of this generation, are becoming increasingly difficult to raise. Society has become so corrupt that even though parents enforce all the necessary rules and precautions, a child who is determined to engage in wrongdoing will find a secretive way to do so, and the parents will remain unaware. I am not implying that every home is failing, but given the current trends in society, any child can be easily influenced to make poor decisions, even within the confines of their own home.

In my current street, based on my observations, there is only one family with grown daughters who appear very disciplined and well-mannered. I often commend the parents, especially the father, for how he has raised his children to be "responsible." These daughters stand out because they do not participate in the questionable behaviors that some of their peers in the neighborhood are involved in.

However, one evening, on a Wednesday, as I was returning from church, I encountered a surprising scene. The father, who I had always admired for his parenting, was chasing one of his daughters with a large stick, shirtless and clearly in anger. I immediately put down my Bible and approached them to inquire about what was going on. I was informed that the daughter in question had been caught in a 'funny' situation with a married man.

Now, who is to blame for the girl’s actions?
Can I, as is common in Africa and Nigeria, attribute this to the devil? Yes, please allow me to...at this junction.

In this situation, the parents did their best to instill good values in the child. Maybe they hadn’t explicitly taught her that being involved with a married man is a crime, but I’m sure they raised her with the understanding that inappropriate relationships with boys are wrong. In fact, in a typical African home, it is uncommon for parents to have direct conversations about such issues with their children. Instead, children learn from observing their parents' reactions to such situations when they arise.

Therefore, I don't place blame on the parents because, based on what I’ve seen during my time in this neighborhood, they truly did their best. I had never heard of any such incidents involving the daughters of this man before. So, let’s say that the devil convinced the daughter to act the way she did.

On the other hand, the daughter knew that what she was doing was wrong, which is why she did it in secret. Don’t you think so?

Alright, let’s agree that the daughter is at fault. But, clearly, she was aware that her actions were wrong, given how she was raised. She simply couldn’t resist whatever it was that drove her to do it. I must point out that societal influence is likely what pushed her in this direction.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, anyone can easily be influenced to join a bad gang or engage in harmful behavior, given how permissive society has become. At this point, it takes only the grace of God and a pure conscience to avoid falling into such traps. Do you know that many people no longer view taking another person’s life as a serious offense? To them, it’s as insignificant as killing an animal. It's truly alarming.

Incase you didn't get the summary,
The parents weren't at fault, it's the girl, the society and a little touch by the devil.

Thanks for reading.

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_{This is my entry to the Week 133, Edition 01 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community}

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