Globalization and social media friendly age has got its good and the ugly.
In addition to the children living in an uncultured environment, the unrestricted posting and accessing information on internet social platforms have exposed our children to feeding on information that adds little or no values to their lives.
Children on the watch to feel and understand when their parents or guardian are involved in smoking cigarettes, taken drugs and to observe drug abuse as a fun interaction in social media has no guide on their moral stand than to confidently play on the drug abuse game innocently without proper knowledge on the consequences it holds to their future.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) statistics has it that 1 out of 7 drug users is between the ages of 9 and 11. And 1 out of 5 drug users in primary education.
Presently the early years school’s drug abuse is an open game league to the point that teachers teach in fear and have falling to the mercy of the children they are to guide.
According to Martha M. Butt, (1818), “All children are by nature evil and while they have none but the natural evil principle to guide them, pious and prudent parents must check their naughty passions in any way that they have in their power, and force them into decent and proper behaviour and into what are called good habbits”.
Drug Free World Africa as much as we target youths, we are well positioned to engage parents and teachers who are empowered to control the adolescent passions of rebelliousness and experimentations. Youths of today consistently participate in problematic behaviours that negatively affects their academics, social and personal functions in society.
And drugs abuse takes about 70℅ of influence over these deviant behaviours of youths today.
For Parents, Symposia and Special Community Based Meetings are continuously organized across all locations with discussion centering on topics like: “Poor Parental Discipline, Monitoring of Children and General Effects”, “Psychological and Mental Health of Children”, ” The Place of Genetics and Hereditary in children Drugs Use”, The Relationship Between a Child Conduct and Drugs Abuse” etc.
2. Having Market Outreach where market women and mothers will be made to here through megaphones the need for proper care of children as a prevention from the incurable ills of drug abuse.
3. Teachers can be encouraged not only to focuses on the academic aspect of the child but to consider very importantly his social and mental life in school and out of school.
We labour now to teach children no to Drug Abuse and gain their sanity and productivity tomorrow.