When
we speak of globalization, we mean that everything has been globalised
including child upbringing in our families. We can therefore ask ourselves if
we can notice any difference between children brought up during those days and
the children of today. Today’s child upbringing has been affected by many
factors; on top of them is the global world. It has really affected not only children
but also the parents who are raising them. These effects are visible and
onerous. It has really influenced the knowledge, skills, and
forms of learning required of children as cultures are affected by worldwide
influences of globalization. Children have many interpretations of these
changes for themselves and their future; what then is the future with this
outstanding globalization?
Parents
have themselves shown bad examples to their growing children. Children have been
affected by many things from their parents like indecent dressing, use of bad
words in front of children, uncontrolled taking of alcohol and drugs, fighting
or indulging themselves in physical or verbal abuse in front of children and unnecessary
use of money. Love for each other between parents has been affected by modern
gadgets of phones, computers, tablets where everyone tends to have no time for
each other. One is on social media, another one on office work and they finally
meet in bed. These and other examples are well recorded by children in their
memories We have to remember that experiences matter a lot in children’s life.
Children learn from the experiences they have from their parents, schools and
their friends as they grow old.
In
addition, most parents nowadays are concentrating much on preparing for
children than preparing children themselves. Most parents nowadays say,
“Nkolera abaana bange” meaning whatever they are doing is for the children.
This makes them give little attention to the forming of a child into a good
person who can work for him/herself in future in case the parent is not there.
In any case if what the parent did or gathered for his/her child deteriorates,
the child in his/her adulthood remains with nothing and the only solution is to
take refuge in antisocial behaviours and criminality.
Children
today have also lost parental love which was fully provided during those days.
Working parents have little or no time for their young children. The task has
been left to house maids and nowadays a child can call a house maid a mother
because most of the time is spent with a maid. There have been instances when a
child calls his or her dad a visitor or uncle and this extent means a family is
not in unity at all. Children have missed touch from their parents which is
very fundamental in child growth. Some
also have missed breast milk; they just feed on bottles. Such a child who grows
without the experience and love of the parents misses a lot in his/her life.
Early
schooling has affected a lot the human formation system. Children nowadays miss
many norms and values passed on by parents, relatives and neighbors as well as
the whole community at home. This is because children start schooling at an
early age starting with kindergartens, nursery schools, primary schools and
higher levels of learning. Nowadays boarding in schools starts at even the
level of kindergarten and this means a child at a tender age has already left
home. He or she only comes home for only 3-4 weeks (remember others study even
in holidays) and even when home, the child is taken care of a house maid. Even
for day scholars, children leave their homes very early from 5 am and even come
back home very late, almost 7 pm. In Nigeria children have to study for few
hours, from 8am to 3pm so that they can have enough time with their parents.
This is not the case in our country; we study the whole day. This means a child
has little time to spend with parents who would care much in imparting values,
norms and morals more than other people who do not care a lot. The whole
responsibility is left to teachers at school because most of the time is spent
at school.
Unfortunately,
the schools which would guide, counsel, impart morals and behaviours to
children are no longer concerned. Teachers and school administrators are only
concerned about academics and perhaps business and not developing children as
well as students into the whole person. A person’s life consists of many
aspects like spiritual aspect, moral aspect, social aspect, psychological
aspect, academic aspect, emotional aspect and others. Forming only one aspect
of academics means a person is half formed; he or she will be weak in other
aspects which has resulted into immorality and other forms of antisocial
behaviour. Lack of career guidance and counseling (which would be done by
parents at home) in schools is partly to blame for increasing rate of drug
abuse among the young, school dropouts and even teenage pregnancies. With the
new government laws which no longer allow teachers to punish children in
schools or canes not exceed two, children are now inclined to disobedience of
their teachers and other school administrators.
Children
and students who survive all these vices while they are still in schools show
them off when they are old especially in the responsibilities they are
handling. There have been many reports concerning bribery, corruption, and
embezzlement of government funds, nepotism, extortion, cronyism, parochialism,
patronage and others. These and others result as a result of moral decay which
starts as one grows up from childhood. There has also been behaviour change in
young people with lack of respect for old people, parents, teachers and other
antisocial behaviours caused by redundancy on streets, the rising gambling and
betting and negative attitudes towards work.
Cultural
globalization has really affected child upbringing today. Our cultures are
resourceful but have been turned to reference because of globalization.
Cultural norms, values, customs and morality which were used to be passed on to
children are considered obsolete now and we have taken up a new cross cultural
generation. Most of the young people no longer know their own local languages
but English, and local proverbs which imparted wisdom to the young people.
Education on certain matters such as sexuality by parents, aunts and uncles has
decline; instead the young already know themselves and start sexual acts when
they are still young. We have seen the consequences of this. In addition,
children are separated from each other, every child with his or her room. This
has reduced their bond as brothers and sisters; children grow better when they
share rooms, socialize, shout and play with each other. Most children are also
cut from their friends especially neighbors and no longer play children games
which play an important role in the growth of a child both psychologically and
socially.
The
current unemployment has been caused by the people’s attitude towards work.
Education today has been taken as for white collar jobs. It is just focused on
finding winners and losers instead of imparting necessary skills for people to
apply in the practical world. Universities and other institutions of learning
are today for winners or those who succeed in studies. Even the curriculum
taught, some of it to do not fit to solve African problems. We need a review in
the curriculum. Technical schools have been left for failures and very few go
there. What is surprising is that no one who goes to technical school lacks a
job. This calls for a change of attitude of minimizing jobs by parents and
children themselves by advocating for technical work and even handiwork.
Social
media has also a great influence on children upbringing today. A child’s only
task apart from going to school is to watch Television and some of the children
are allowed to watch TV channels and programmes of their choice. Some of these channels
and programmes have really participated much in diluting our cultures and
advocating for what is so called dot com. What a child sees is what she or he
does and most times children become so addicted if not controlled that they
cannot do any work apart from watching. In addition, today most children are
exposed to all sorts of gadgets like smart phones, computers, tablets and
others own them personally. This sometimes draws the attention of children from
other things to use of these gadgets. Some parents have been advocating for
children and even students to go with their phones at school, but to me this
will create more harm than good for they will be the order of the day in
schools. There will automatically be a decline in academics as most attention
will be put to phones. Social media and other social networks are good but
should be regulated in use especially to children who are still tender in
stages of human formation system.
With
these global changes, where are we heading to and which type of future do we
have in our children? The fact is that globalization has come and it is still
here, the only thing to do is to devise means on how to use what it offers in a
right way, with right people and in the right time. We are compelled also to
devise means on how to see that globalization has not affected negatively the
young people because they are the generation of tomorrow. Instead to use it in
a way that will help the growing young people realize what they intend to be in
future and to build up a developed community with reduced rates of crimes and
immorality. New generation needs new approaches to life to ensure living well
in the society and our country at large. Who then is to do this? You and me. It
starts form you and me to see that the current globalization has a positive
impact on us and our children. We have to rediscover our values and customs; I
do not mean to go back, but to use those values to be modernized. Parents,
government, human right activists, political analysts, education practioners
and all people, let us work together to make a better world to live in provided
with what globalization offers to us.
Wilson
Karugaba
Student of
Philosophy, at Queen of Apostles Philosophy Centre Jinja, MILL HILL MISSIONARIES
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| Wilson Karugaba MHM student |
