The Role of Parents and Society in Making Children the Leaders of Tomorrow

The saying "Children are the leaders of tomorrow" is one most of us have heard over and over again, but beyond the intriguing statement, we all can agree that it's the truth, because a day will come when they'll be the ones running the affairs of our world, and the kind of adults our children grow up to become usually largely depends on the kind of seeds we sow in them today. The character, wisdom, and strength that are needed to run the coming generation are all usually bred and shaped by parental and social guidance and nurturing given to them today.

As someone who works closely with children and interacts with many parents as a teacher, I've come to understand that parents and society have a crucial role to play when it comes to how children turn out in the future. Everything isn't all about prayers and hope that our children will turn out right; beyond that, we must be intentional about the kind of future we want for them and how we're preparing them for it, because, like the biblical phrase "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he grows he'll not depart from it," we should give it our all to help these young ones become the kind of adults we yearn for them to be in the future.

Parents: The First and Most Important Leaders

It's worth noting that a child's first world is his or her home, and parents usually play the role of the first role models for their children, as you literally see them look up to their parents, imitating their actions and the like, which simply shows that everything children hear, see, or experience at home usually leaves behind a lasting impact, so as parents, if you want your child to become an honest leader, then you must first model integrity yourself; if you want them to be empathetic, responsible, and respectful, you must also consistently live a lifestyle that reflects those values in not just words but actions as well.

Also, when raising a child you want them to become one of the future leaders, then you must raise them with love, guidance, and discipline, making sure they all go hand in hand. You can't afford to be always absent or overly harsh or lenient with your child, or you're grooming them into a balanced adult. They'll definitely have lots of scars that way and be broken. A child needs to be encouraged to dream, corrected with love, and taught the value and importance of hard work. It's all about being intentional and present, not about being perfect, because no one is.

Society: The Bigger Picture

While the home is where the foundation of a child's life is set, society is the place where what a child learns is reinforced. Schools, media, community leaders, religion, peer groups, and the like all together play a powerful role. Coming from a loving home isn't enough in building a child's future when society is full of corruption, violence, bad governance, and toxic influence. It usually becomes a tough struggle for these young ones to stay upright despite being raised in an amazing home, and that's why I included society in the vital aspects that influence a child's future.

And that's why it's important to build a community that supports and protects children's growth. I remember growing up in one of the most rugged parts of Lagos and how that society almost influenced my life negatively, while my parents quickly discovered this and changed our residence. The same can't be said for some of my childhood friends who, despising being intelligent as children, ended up being agbero. So every aspect of the community must be functional, with teachers not just teaching but also inspiring, media portraying morally positive content, and other sections too. As a society, we must encourage and take the values we promote seriously because the children are watching, and they often become what they see regularly.

By investing in their future, we are indirectly investing in ours.

We usually talked about the future like it's very far away, meanwhile it's already here. What we're doing now is laying the foundation today; by tomorrow we are already in the future, so it's worth noting that every time a parent teaches their child rights, each time a teacher goes the extra mile to inspire, or a community sets up a youth program and mentorship, we're directly influencing and lighting up the path of these young ones to a better future.

In a nutshell, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't wait till our children are grown before we start taking steps to fix them into the kind of adults we want them to become; we should start now, at home, in schools, in places of worship, across our communities, and the like, and certainly we'll be proud to see them turn out just fine in the future we've always dreamt of, so raise them into the future you want for them now in the present, because even though the future belongs to them, we've still got responsibility in shaping it as parents and society.

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All photos are taken and edited on canva.

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