Introduction

Another primary cause of crime is due to the lack of parental guidance in the home. This lack of guidance is probably due to the lack of involvement by parents and the lack of involvement probably occurs because of the absence of parents in the home either because they are not there in the home physically or because they are too busy out of the home working on multiple jobs.

Our responsibility as parents

Our responsibility as parents is to ensure that we take care of our children, financially, physically, spiritually and mentally.

Sometimes, parents become separated and you will find that one of the parents is delinquent in providing financial help for their children and as a result it puts a strain on one of the parents financially. Sometimes this results in poverty in the home and children want what they see other children have and this may result in them robbing and stealing from others which will be the start of committing a crime. As parents, we must ensure that we encourage our children not to compare themselves to others and to be content until the situation improves. Of course there can be dual parents in the home as well with little income and the effect may be the same.

As parents we must also carefully monitor what our children are watching and doing. Of course, we cannot monitor our children 24 hours a day but the time we are around them, we must ensure they are watching appropriate videos whether on TV or a You Tube channel. A lot of children behaviors are influence by the things they watch. Some of the programs today are not suited at all for children and may influence them in their conduct.

I believe we must ensure that our children know the word of God and therefore as parents we must ensure we take them to church, have fellowship and devotions at home. Without this foundation, it can lead to children doing things contrary to the word of God. Now of course, there are children who have been raised in Christian homes and have diverted from the teaching and are committing crimes. I will say this though, once a child is grounded in the word of God, the word becomes a part of their subconscious mind and one day they will return to the Lord.  I believe peer pressure and mental issues contribute to children diverting from the teaching of the word of the Lord. In addition, some children are being taught in Colleges and Universities that there is no God and hence this also plays a part in their actions.

Some of us have spoiled our children. We give them everything they want. We do not discipline them. We cover for them when they are wrong. As a result, we are indirectly enabling children in their action.

What should parents do?

There are some parents who have done their best to raise their children but yet their children commit crimes.

• I believe the same way churches counsels individuals when they are getting married, joining a church or christening a baby, the church should offer parental counselling to parents on a regular basis.
• Parents should lead by example. If you want your children to do well, then you should do well. Stop abusing individuals in the presence of your children. Stop taking drugs and stop getting drunk in the presence of your children. Chances are they may do the same as you. There is something called generational curses and generational blessings. Plant a good seed so you bear good fruits through your children and grandchildren.
• Ensure your children are in a good environment and keep good company. This may be hard but try. My mother hardly let us go out and as I reflect on it, it probably was a good thing. A common thing that is being practiced is sleepover. Be careful with this parents.
• Be involve in the lives of your children even if you are not living in the same home. Give them the attention they need before they find them elsewhere
• Do not put any TVs in their rooms and don’t give them any phones at a young age. If you choose to keep the TV, then block the channels that you think are inappropriate.
• Get help with your children if you think they have mental issues. Don’t put this on the backburner thinking nothing can be done.
• There are some children who are now adults and are no longer under parental control and are having all sorts of issues. In this case, the parents should get their children to a treatment center abroad for drugs, alcohol and behavioral issues. Ensure it is a Christian based one. Alternatively, we can try and establish a center in or country as some people cannot afford to go abroad.

Conclusion

If we can get it right in raising our children properly, we will be close to alleviating the crime situation in our country. Some of us are blaming the church and calling on the church to intervene but we are not even taking our children to church. Some of us are blaming the Government but we know some of our children are committing these crimes but we protect them by remaining silent. However, you are not really protecting them, you are enabling your children and they may commit more crimes.

Therefore no matter what the Government does, if we don’t do what we supposed to do at home, then the initiatives by Government may not be impactful. Likewise, when we call on the church to do something, we got to do our part as well for faith without works is dead.