Are parents doing enough to instill values in their children?

Editor, RE: “Who is liable for a student’s misdeeds on their way to school?” (The New Times, September 7). Who is to blame for the worsening morals of young stars? If we are to answer this question or the one phrased about “who is liable for such an incident between the parents and school authorities”, the answer is not a direct one and I am likely to approach the matter with a 360-degree approach. This is worrying; when you look at the children of today, you are forced to go into silence contemplating on what should be done, where to begin and other sorts of solutions only to come up with none. Some of today’s children are rebellious, unruly and very chaotic at times, in fact gone are the days when children were humble and feared trouble. Children upbringing was a collective concern and any elder was in position to guide and educate, but today this is no more. Certain values that are ignored in the child’s upbringing include the manner and channels via which one gets a spouse. This is supposed to be a very careful choice, especially since you are choosing a partner with which you would spend the longest time of your life. It is the same partner with whom you will work to bring up your off-springs. Of late partners are chosen anyhow, I might trigger a debate on this but it is hard that a man or woman picked from a night club lifestyle will turn up to be a good father or mother. Children are curious and can easily spot the seriousness or the weakness of the parents as they grow up. We are all responsible to mold them into responsible citizens; it is like people seeing sins happening and look around for a sheikh/pastor to intervene. Teachers are doing their work but parenting should fall more on the shoulders of the parents but we can all do collective monitoring. On the other hand, let’s as well look at how the students have been ignored, when we grew up, once we put on our uniforms going to cross any busy road vehicles could stop to give us passage. Last week, as I was walking on the pavements in Nyamirambo near Ntwari Primary School, I could spot recklessness on the part of motorists. No vehicle dared to let the children cross, but also, children were also trying to cross in a disorderly manner, with no common point at which to cross. In the past, prefects helped school authorities in reporting cases of fights, theft and so on and so forth to the level you felt the school followed you everywhere. If the parents can monitor the time it takes a child to commute between school and home, this can help a big deal as well and once in a while parents can go check on the attendance as well as performance of the child, this will deliver monitored progress. It is shame that some parents do not even make an effort to go to school and meet the teachers who are helping their children learn. All these are the loopholes that children will observe and take advantage of to misbehave. Khassim Bizimungu

Opinions

Are parents doing enough to instill values in their children?