ABUJA – A cross-section of teachers on Saturday in Abuja, advised parents to engage their children and wards in useful and productive activities during this long vacation.
The teachers who spoke to a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), enumerated such activities to include craft, arts, music, gardening, among others.
They said that engaging them in these productive activities would check the temptation of participating in deviant acts.
They urged parents to also spend more time with their children to enable them identify the strength and weaknesses of the children.
Mr Solomon Abel, a music teacher, said that children should be exposed to the knowledge of music from early stage of development to help them build their individual personality and confidence.
“It helps the body and mind work together, co-operation, sharing, creativity and builds concentration.
“It also helps them learn sound and meanings of words, self-expression, it provides joy and strengthens memory and skills, “he said.
Mrs Mabel Ojo, an arts and craft teacher, called on parents to engage their children and wards in crafts to help them develop individuality, patience and sense of beauty.
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“Those little hands of theirs (children) can make colourful combination of beads that can produce an earring or necklace and tells one the personality of such a child.
“You can actually discover your child in his or her work of arts or craft, his strength, weakness, confidence and patience,” she said.
Ojo urged parents to engage their children in knitting, beading, mat and basket making, pottery, cooking, sewing among others.
On her part, Mrs Yemi Abiodun, a mother, believes that paying close attention to children, especially during long vacations, helps to assess how they are faring academically.
“You now discover the areas these children need your help or need to improve because you cannot leave this responsibility to the teachers alone.
“Parents should be the ones to point out areas their children should be helped or strengthened, and long vacations are the best time to help them” Abiodun said.
She blamed the decadence in the society on wrong upbringing and insufficient time with the children by their parents.
Mr Emma Egwu, a father, said that enough attention had not been paid to the issue of proper upbringing of children.
He said that women are not even helping matters, as most of them prefer to buy snacks and food from eating houses than sit down and prepare food for the family.
Egwu urged mothers to change such attitude and use this long vacation to teach their children how to cook and keep the home decent. (NAN)
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