IMPORTANCE OF STABLE, FUNCTIONAL FAMILY UNIT

Sir,

It is estimated that more than 60 per cent of the world’s population is under 25 years of age, yet the number of life’s casualties among them is alarming. Their minds and bodies have been drained and twisted by drugs, crime and illicit sex. They have been abandoned and left by parents, guardians, mums and dads to collapse by the wayside of life. Our negligence has left today’s young people grappling in life with uncertain values, purposelessness and promiscuity. All of us must join hands in order to train, equip and prepare our young people for future exploits. Fathers, mothers, uncles, aunties, teachers, lecturers and pastors are all key in raising children of destiny.

Generation

Today’s generation will not be necessarily raised by persuasive pulpiteers or public orators, but rather by adults who are generational thinkers, committed to spending quality time with them, imparting life principles both by instruction and example. God gave us children for the purposes of perpetuating a purposeful and productive family life, community life and national life. It actually takes three generations to change a nation. Therefore instead of cutting off the future of our children through fear, ignorance and negligence, we must intentionally strategise on how to positively affect the future of our children. We must exhibit a great sense of responsibility and concern for the next and future generations, instead of embracing a ‘doom and gloom’ mentality or posture of failure and despair. Children must be trained and equipped to be nation builders.

Vision

It is saddening to see that most children exhibit a muffled sense of vision, a confused sense of mission and a distorted sense of their call. This is evident in their words, actions, activities and behaviour. It is, therefore, imperative for us as parents to begin to instill in our children their God-given identity, purpose, vision and destiny. As parents we must be instrumental in helping our children fulfill their purpose and calling. The first key thing we must all understand is the power and importance of family life. For children, growing up in a loving and caring family is a vital building block that gives definition to the meaning of life and will serve them for the rest of their lives.

The importance of a stable and functional family unit is key to the training, equipping and development of children. The family unit is very key because that is where children absorb values, ethics and morals; where they learn how to discern between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and activities. It is where children can turn to in times of crises. It is usually in the family set-up where children learn the art of communication, the importance of values, integrity, ethics, morals and how to maintain boundaries in life. The family is a powerful force that has the potential of shaping the destinies of communities and nations. We must therefore put value on family life.

Many of today’s problems in communities have their roots in dysfunctional families. Thus when looking at the importance of the family unit, it’s not just the case of husband and wife staying together but rather building a strong loving relationship that is able to overcome the challenges of family life or marriage life, in order to cultivate a healthy environment for raising children of destiny. There is a link between healthy families, healthy young people and strong political, religious and economic future leaders.

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