hildren are gift from God and a blessing to every married couple. Children born to a couple in the ancient days were seen as part of the community hence bringing up the children was done collectively by all persons in the community. That collective child upbringing has reduced over the years and finally come to an end.

This has made child upbringing especially the girl child quite difficult. These children with fast growing minds easily pick up bad behaviors from their nannies, house helps and baby sitters because their parents are always busy chasing their respective careers. This can also be attributed to the non-existence of the extended family system these days.

It is obvious that both male and female children practice out of curiosity the things they learn from the above people. But the effect is mostly seen in the girl child. Teenage pregnancy, school drop-out, street hawking, chances of been raped, contraction of deadly diseases such as HIV AIDS, and dead are some of the plights of the girl child after been curious to practice what have been learnt.

In this modern society, a child cannot be corrected by another person. Anyone who dares faces the wrath of the parents. It is high time we re-visited the ancient ways of child upbringing and probably the extended family system where all the people in the family and community would play a vital role in the children’s life.

The society would be a better place for us all with little or no vices if we become each other’s keepers by helping parents bring up their children well.

By: Der Debuo Amanda