Children’s Day: Education, discipline of children in our modern society

By: Samuel Ogundipemi

“The unacknowledged work of our lives becomes countless years,” goes a popular proverb. May 27, 2025, will mark another celebration of Children’s Day in countries around the world. On this occasion, I wish children worldwide a Happy Children’s Day.

The scriptures state, “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is often applied to the upbringing of children. In other words, a country that does not adequately plan for the education and development of its children and young people is essentially setting itself up for decline.

Undoubtedly, the lack of discipline is contributing to the corruption, decadence, and degradation of our children and young people on a significant scale. Such indiscipline involves supervision, guidance, and diligent coaching of children.

According to the Scriptures, the current times are characterized by selfishness, love of money, arrogance, violence, pleasure, and disobedience to parents and elders. Our society is now confronting great challenges. There is a growing concern regarding the influence of social media, peer influence, ungodly influence, and a lack of self-control, as well as enthusiasm for hard work and internal discipline.

As a continent, we are in serious crisis in Africa. It is essential to instil the fear of God while fighting to combat the excesses, which are further exacerbated by the explosion of materialism, consumerism, and abundance of remote jobs, shifting and declining parental supervision.

Today’s children are growing up in an environment where the word of God is not taken seriously, leading to rebellion and clear resistance to the truth. Morality has been largely disregarded, causing many children and young adults to adopt the belief that “the happiest life is a free one.”

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Children are heavily influenced by media that feature appealing characters in strange and unusual acts. Captivated by this phenomenon, mass and social media continuously push narratives that visualise the absence and decadence of decency.

Many parents are neglecting their children for long periods to earn a living, depending primarily on technology to do the nurturing. Guided by TikTok’s algorithm, most watchers develop hypnosis and engage with the wrong side of media, rapidly losing their way.

Given this scenario, we must approach the circumstances which children face. Parents must offer our children informed, Spirit-led guidance. If we choose to ignore them, trusting that they will somehow learn on their own, we should express our regret then. We should express our disappointment for two groups: ourselves and those who raised us.

We also need to stay informed about the latest technological developments to effectively guide our children. Parents should leverage technology to help their children acquire the skills necessary to remain relevant and competitive, especially in the job market.

Parents need to avoid making random statements about the children. Maintaining a proactive environment is crucial to encouraging growth. First of all, we must enforce appropriate discipline, being clear and direct when correcting behavior.

Parents should confidently guide their children’s school activities.

Religious activities should not be prohibited in schools. Religious organizations must create a resilient framework that helps children function properly in society. The way a child is raised will shape who they turn out to become. Children who are taught obedience, submission, godliness, and humility under the influence of prayer, and home structure will promote faithfulness, respect for the school and young people. The government should support and improve management and systems for dealing with mentally ill children, helping them to access healthy coping mechanisms and family services.

There is still hope for every child to thrive. The two shoulders our success rest on are: God who gives us peace and every household must consistently nurture and instruct its children in the teachings of God.

Parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other stakeholders need to provide proper training to children and youth from birth through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood.

Immediate and substantial action is necessary to address the unstable nature of parenting, the continuous negative upbringing of lives of our children and youth today. Raising, developing, and training children is a challenging task that requires significant resources, attention, and spiritual commitment.

In conclusion, God bless us with children who possess immense potentials. It is crucial to discipline and guide them carefully and keep them focused. Well-trained children will have a huge impact when they reach adulthood. Training children is neither rude nor misguiding; it is honest, perfect and appropriate. Religious instruction is essential in today’s deteriorating society.

Let’s join our hands and efforts to put our children forward, honestly, diligently, and humanely. If we expect to provide them with essential education and proper discipline and also facilitate the future of our nation, we all live up to our obligations to God and humanity.

Pastor Ogundipemi sent this piece via: [email protected]