Family Day Celebration And Children 

Last Monday, May 15, 2023 was celebrated as the International Day of Families. It is a day celebrated annually to promote the importance of families and their significant role in society. It is also a day to raise awareness about the social, economic and demographic changes that impact families worldwide.
The International Day of Families was first established by the United Nations in 1993 to raise awareness and serve as an opportunity to celebrate the unique bond and love that families share.
The theme of this year’s day was, “Demographic Trends and Families”.
Over the years, issues affecting families have been raised including poverty, access to healthcare, domestic violence, hunger and the overall challenges of raising children.
As part of preparations for the thirtieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, 2024, the 2023 observance of the International Day of Families focused on major demographic changes and their impact on families . The event that took place at the United Nation’s headquarters, New York,  shared current knowledge about demographic trends, include ageing and intergenerational solidarity. Also, it facilitated the analysis of their impacts on family life and recommended family oriented policies that can respond to the needs of families around the world.
It is a well known fact that families are at the core of a society.  Promoting stronger families can strengthen our communities and the society at large.
The family raises children in their formative years until adulthood.  Without family, many would not be where they are today.
It is also known that family closeness helps individuals live longer and regulate personal emotions. This has led to taking care of extended family and also taking care of elders in their old age, which helps improve overall well-being of individuals, provide personal stress relief and help regulate the economy.
Also, family values which are guiding principles that inform how families make decisions and live their lives has been known to be important.
As children grow older, as they make their own decisions, their family values would give them strong moral compass to follow as they navigate different times in a world outside of their homes.
However, over the years, family values to a large extent has eroded.  Some core African values were the extended family system, hardwork, honesty, respect for elders in the society, integrity and discipline. Unfortunately, with the coming of civilisation in form of the internet, many families expecially in Nigeria are nonchalant in this  area, thereby raising children of questionable characters,  leaving behind our strong and positive family values.
Speaking in an interview with The Tide Kiddies/Young World Desk as part of activities marking the International Day of Families, Executive  Director, Heathy Life Development Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Rivers State, Dr. Mfon Utin, stated that, family values have eroded greatly in the society with only about 40 percent of families still instilling family values to the younger ones.
Dr. Utin explained that the reason boils down to the fact that everybody is busy trying to make ends meet for their daily living, adding that, money is now the focus and concern for families is not there anymore.
She also explained that power  and achievement have taken family values off most of us, thereby affecting the young ones due to our busy schedules.
According to her, “right now, most children can not speak their native dialects,  children are not protected under the family because there is no love, connectivity and concern for each other. When there is no connectivity, children may likely take issues bothering them outside the home”.
The Executive Director  advised parents to make out time to train their children through capacity building and mentoring during their craddle ages, not as adults.
“Some families are over pampering their children.  They pay people to write WAEC or JAMB for their children, this type of pampering must stop. Parents and family members must have listening ears for the young ones in order to guide and monitor them during different stages of their lives”, she said.
She however called on families to celebrate the annual event for more unity, love, bonding and respect, adding that, “family is a bloodline. Without family, there will be no society, and though, there are some families that do not know themselves, if more awareness is attached to this celebration,it will help our society”, she said.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo