OPINION

CHILD BONDAGE

By: OTUNG GABRIEL MOSES

Child bondage which is simply the state in which a child is under a form of slavery or lacks certain freedom to do some certain things on their own especially at a particular age is usually carried out by most parents in the contemporary African society, even the world at large. The fact about this is that the impression of this is bad.

If you look deep into the African society, you will notice that parents practice this kind of act, only thinking to be the best way of protecting their child/children or wards from evils in the society whereas there might be none. When a child begins to grow up, parents also being to dictate things for their child/children with such saying:” Be a good boy, always read your books, don’t follow bad friends and so on and so forth.  A child begins to adhere to such words because they believe it is what is right because it is been told to them by their parents. This in the first stage of the life of a child is necessary and also compulsory but still, some children do not adhere to such words.

REASONS WHY CHILDREN MAY FIND IT HARD TO KEEP TO SUCH ADVICES

1. Influence

2. Freewill

3. Lack of experience

1. Influence: It is a known fact today that people can be influenced by their friends, family members, groups, etc. Due to the fact that a child is not exposed regularly to his/her environment or things in life, he/she can be influenced by his friends. For instance, if a boy named Chima goes to a new school with the advice he has received from his parents, he totally may not know who may be good or bad. He is forced to look at everybody as being good for the first few weeks until he gets to know them for a while before he distinguishes himself from the bad ones. Influence plays an important role in changing the lifestyle of a child but may not work since everybody is not the same.

2. Freewill: Freewill is very important in the life of a man, no wonder why God gave man freedom to make his own choices. Though, it is very important but dangerous. Children can find themselves in a dangerous situation because their minds could be manipulated physically or spiritually. No matter how parents place a strict policy or control on their child, they would find it hard controlling the freewill nature which their child possesses. It is very important to note that before the freewill aspect of a man is activated, a “word or words” must have been listened to. It is therefore very important to mind the kind of words you listen to, whether as a child or an adult.

3. Lack of experience: It is very important to have experience in order to overcome any situation in any given period. Lack of experience may be considered to be bad to many people because they feel that a single failure from any experience leads to total condemnation but in reality, it makes you stronger. For your child to succeed, he/she must have experiences whether pleasant or not. Experience is the best way to learn according to many people. It is not necessary for a child to have such experiences, considering the fact that he/she is not in a supposed bondage.

In a long run, any form of child bondage should be discouraged, since it may lead to bad outcomes. However, girls could be protected but should not be in any form of bondage even though they are at high risks of uncertainty.