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Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, has urged parents not to treat their children’s well being with kid gloves.
He gave the advice during the opening of a two-day training to expose parents of Alimosho Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) to Montessori principles in bringing up their wards at the Oki Primary Schools complex, Alaguntan.
Wahab, who was represented by Mrs Adepeju Sumonu, lamented that parents do not have the time for their wards in the name of making ends meet.
He said: “Living in Lagos is a big task. Thus, I have discovered that parents do not really have time for their children. This should not be so; they should spend enough time with their children; it is very important.
“Some parents also take their children to mushroom schools because of cheap fees. It is not advisable because growing children need an enabling environment, like we have in standard schools, to enhance their all-round development.”
Education Secretary, Alimosho LGEA, Mrs Airat Mojirade Alamu, advised parents to monitor their wards, which will help ease the burden on teachers.
She also said parents should try providing for their wards so they are not lured to do unethical.l things.
“We need to enlighten parents on how to take care of their children. Parents who want their children to be great have to be dedicated to them and monitor them closely. Also they should provide their basic needs to avoid somebody any form of harassment,” she said.
A member of FMEN, Mrs Moji Babalola, urged the 75 parents at the event to create a safe and enabling environment for their wards.
Using teaching aids, she explained how parents could take good care of their children.
“A child that has the right environment to thrive will not be a problem to the teacher in school,” she said.
Coordinator of the Aid to Life Programme Mrs. Yinka Awobo-Pearse advised parents on proper hygiene, noting that children should not be exposed to harmful substances.
She noted that, in the course of implementing the programme, FMEN observed that parents seemingly lacked understanding of natural development of their children. She said the foundation’s mission was to enlighten them about Montessori principles of movement, communication, independence and self-discipline.
She added that parents should engender reading culture in their children as well as engage them in meaningful conversations that aid learning.
She said: “Parents should talk regularly with their children because according to a research, children that hear close to 30 million words by age three do very well in school.”
Mrs. Awobo-Pearse said the programme which held in Agege, Ikorodu, Kosofe, and Alimosho LGEAs, was billed for 16 more local governments.
She noted that after Lagos State, Ogun would be the next port of call.
“We have been to other schools in Agege, Ikorodu, and Kosofe local governments. Alimosho is the fourth local government we are in. We still have 16 more LGAs to cover before we take the programme to Ogun State.”
Participants at the event were given gifts such as detergents, noodles and tissue paper.
