By Kennedy Sheyin
The National Defence College Officers’ Wives Association (NDCOWA) has called on schools, government institutions, healthcare systems and the entire community to join parents in raising stable children for the future.
The NDCOWA Coordinator, Mrs Hauwa Ahmed made the call on Tuesday in Abuja, in her remarks at a welfare lecture organised by the association.
The theme of the lecture is “Child Well-being: Nurture, Educate and Protect”.
Ahmed noted that children were the future of every family, community and the nation at large, adding that in view of this, their well-being, growth and development was absolutely important.
She also noted that the well-being of children went beyond providing food and shelter.
According to her, it encompasses physical and mental health, education, safety, emotional development, protection, and the ability to grow in a secure and supportive environment.
“We need to reflect on the different factors that influence the well-being and development of our children, analyse the broader perspective of child well-being and practical steps we can adopt to improve outcomes for children.
“We must also look at education as one of the strongest tools to empower children as well as identify and address the barriers that prevent them from accessing quality education.
“Furthermore, we must discuss the important factors of protecting children from harm and exploitation. Child protection is a collective responsibility that requires the commitment of parents, schools, communities, and institutions like the NDCOWA.
“Also, with the rapid rise of technology, we should also consider the positive and negative effects of social media on children. Though social media provides opportunities for learning, communication, and creativity, it also presents risks.”
The NDCOWA coordinator explained that these developments had prompted the need for parents, guardians and caregivers to be equipped to guide children towards responsible and safe use of digital platforms.
She therefore called on every party who contributed to the development of children to come together to work towards creating future leaders who were enlightened, as well as physically and mentally stable children that would take Nigeria and the world forward.
“Parents can not do it alone; schools, healthcare professionals, government institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and indeed the entire society all have important roles to play.
“When we invest in the well-being and sound development of our children, we are investing in the future of our nation,” she said.
Ahmed also reaffirmed the commitment of the association to supporting the welfare of personnel and their families while contributing positively to national development.
She said the association remained committed to initiatives that promoted the well-being of women, children and vulnerable members of societies through seminars, medical interventions, and community outreach programmes.
The President of the Defence and Police Officers Wives’ Association(DEPOWA) Mrs Mernan Oluyede said the subject of the day reflected the complex environment that parents had to raise children in “today’s” world.
Oluyede said that parents owe children the responsibility of nurturing, educating and protecting them, noting that all the responsibilities in the theme of the lecture were interconnected.
“To nurture is to provide not only material needs, but also love, guidance, discipline and an environment in which children feel valued and secure.
“To educate is to equip them not only with knowledge, but also with character, responsibility, empathy and the capacity to make sound decisions.
“The third, which is to protect, has assumed even greater significance in today’s rapidly changing world with our children increasingly inhabiting physical and digital environments.
“The physical we see around them and a digital one that we as parents may not always fully see or understand,” she said.
She added that though technology provided tremendous opportunities for learning and creativity, it also exposed children to cyber bullying, inappropriate content, online exploitation, misinformation and other harmful influences.
“Protecting our children therefore requires digital awareness, parental engagement and a mode of continuous communication,” she added.
She tasked parents to recognise that a child’s well-being included mental and emotional well-being.
She emphasised that children may not always possess the words to explain anxiety, loneliness, fear or pressures, saying this required parents to step up their intimacy with their children.
“We must be able to recognise changes in behaviour, create safe spaces for conversation and seek appropriate professional support where necessary”, she advised.
She lauded the wives and mothers within the defence and police communities noting the additional dimension of responsibilities involved.
She said deployments, courses, hostings, prolonged absence from home, frequent relocation and the inherent uncertainties associated with service placed unique pressures on spouses and children.
She assured them that the officers’ wives’ associations were more than a platform for social interaction but also important support systems through which families could find encouragement, guidance and practical assistance.
“This understanding remains central to our work at DEPOWA. We recognise that the welfare of the family is inseparable from the well-being and effectiveness of the personnel who serve our nation.
“When our children are secure, properly educated and emotionally supported, our homes become more resilient and when our homes are resilient, personnel are better positioned to discharge their responsibilities with confidence and peace of mind.
“Strong families strengthen morale, strong morale strengthens institutions and strong institutions strengthen national security,” she said.
She stressed that the future desired for the nation was already taking shape in the children being raised today.
“Every value we demonstrate, every opportunity we provide and every effort we make to keep them safe contributes to the adults they will eventually become.
“Let us therefore nurture them with love, educate them with purpose and protect them with vigilance.
“In doing so, we are not merely raising successful children, we are building stronger families, stronger institutions and ultimately a stronger Nigeria,” Oluyede concluded.
She commended the NDCOWA for organising such an important programme which she described as timely and in tandem with the current times.(NAN)
Edited by Deborah Coker