The Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Zubairu Muazu, on Friday urged mothers to be more involved in the lives of their children.
Muazu said this at an event organised by Triumphant Foundation for Widows and Orphans with the theme:” Great Mothers Gathering”.
The CP, who was represented by ACP Nurat Okunade, spoke on the Role of Mothers to Effectively Curb Crime and Social Vices among Youths.
According to him, there is a general belief that parents have the power to shape, mould and develop their children.
“In criminology, the cause and cure for crime has also been linked to the complex dynamics of the family. The absence of father is, however, the single most important cause of crime.
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“Your tone of voice, your body language and your every expression are absorbed by your children. Your words and action as a parent affect their self esteem more than anything else.
“Women, how involved are you in your children’s lives? How well do you know them? Do you know the names of their teachers, how about their friends and their friend’s parents?
“Do you know what your kids are doing after school? We have been hooked on to our phones or social media, while we should have been paying attention to our children.
“Parenting is a skill which must be practised diligently. It is one of the most challenging jobs in the world to raise a problem free child who is a proper balance of morals, values and discipline.
“Are you a carefree as a parent, giving your children the power to decide everything?
“In such cases, kids become their own masters, going to bed late, getting up late and doing absolutely everything at their own will.
“Due to the hectic lifestyles and both parents working, no one disciplines the kids as life is already chaotic,” he said.
Muazu said that at the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.
“I know as single mothers, you get so busy trying to provide the best for your children that you just do not view these things as important.
“However, an involved parent is a more informed parent and it lessens your children’s chances to succumbing to peer pressure and experimenting with drugs.
” Or becoming teen mothers and getting involved with gang/occultic activities.” he said.
The Founder, Triumphant Foundation, Mr Patrick Tinka, said that the essence of the gathering was to support widows, single parenting mothers and unprepared mothers to shape their capabilities into concrete responses.
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“Great Mother’s Gathering 2019 is a concept I received a few years ago to bring the above mentioned mothers together to give them a platform where they can be able to harness capabilities into concrete responses.
“An ancient Greek philosopher once said ‘give me a lever and a place to stand and I would move the earth.’ I however have a version of this quote as ‘give me an understanding of the problem and an action and I can shape events.’
“Understanding without action is merely an intellectual exercise. But when we combine understanding with action, there will be a lever that can make make a difference in any challenge.
“Coming together as a voice propels us into action that are beyond individual abilities.” he said.
Mr Yinka Oyegbile, the Chairman of the occasion, said that mother is gold, adding that a writer once said women are foolish to think they are equal to men because they are more than men.
“If you give a woman yam, she turns it into pounded yam. If you give a woman tomato, she turns it into soup. So why will they bring themselves down to the level of men.
“In otherwords, women come with goodwill and blessings. Motherhood is not just to give birth but with more responsibilities.
“Anywhere you go and see a well behaved child, you will know that he is properly brought up and you will see the difference a child singlehandedly trained by a man or a woman.
“This, however, has nothing to do with the financial capacity of both parties as being a good mother goes beyond being wealthy.
“I salute our women, especially the widows, those widowed at a young age and those widowed when the family is not financially stable.
“I also salute single mothers who can reveal to their children how they earn their living and how they take care of them,” he said. (NAN)