{"id":355915,"date":"2026-05-29T01:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=355915"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:18:12","slug":"fida-advocates-inclusion-of-children-in-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=355915","title":{"rendered":"FIDA Advocates Inclusion of Children In Decision-Making"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Rivers State branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has urged parents and guardians to actively involve children in decision-making processes within the family, stressing that such inclusion promotes responsibility, confidence and accountability among young people.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Chairperson of FIDA Rivers, Tamunonemi Life-George, made the call during a secondary school debate competition organised in commemoration of the 2026 Children\u2019s Day celebration in Port Harcourt, recently.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The debate competition, which drew participants from several secondary schools across the state, centred on the theme, \u201cChildren\u2019s Rights and Child Participation,\u201d with students engaging in discussions on the need to give children a stronger voice in issues affecting them.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Speaking at the event, Life-George said the changing realities of society and the increasing exposure of children to information demand a more inclusive and participatory approach to parenting.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
She noted that children should no longer be ignored in matters concerning their welfare and future, adding that involving them in discussions at home would enable them to develop a sense of belonging and responsibility.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to her, children who are carried along in family matters often grow into more responsible adults and are better equipped to contribute positively towards resolving challenges within the home and society.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The FIDA Rivers Chairperson further stated that the association has continued to sensitise parents, guardians and children on the importance of child rights, insisting that every child deserves to be heard and respected.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a keynote address, Nteiro Elijah advocated a balanced approach to child participation, explaining that while children should be encouraged to express themselves freely, proper guidance and supervision remain essential.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Elijah observed that unlike in previous generations where children had little or no opportunity to contribute to discussions, modern realities require that they be given room to participate actively, especially as future leaders of society.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He, however, cautioned parents against exposing children excessively to negative influences, particularly on social media platforms, stressing the need for careful monitoring and parental guidance.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The keynote speaker also warned against placing emotional burdens on children, including involving them in marital conflicts, describing such actions as harmful to the emotional and psychological development of young persons.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Some of the participating students commended FIDA Rivers for organising the event, describing it as an avenue for building confidence, broadening knowledge and encouraging interaction among students from different schools.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Baptist High School emerged overall winner and received prizes alongside other participants during the event.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
King Onunwor<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rivers State branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has urged parents and guardians to actively involve children in decision-making processes within the family, stressing that such inclusion promotes responsibility, confidence and accountability among young people. The Chairperson of FIDA Rivers, Tamunonemi Life-George, made the call during a secondary school debate competition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=355915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355926,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355915\/revisions\/355926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=355915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=355915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=355915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}