i am a 17 year old male,ive been living in the u.k for over three years now and i have to say,although i hate the flogging in nigeria,children raised there are by FAR better off.children in the u.k are raised as victims of their surroundings and like idiots,they simply accept whatever situation they are dropped in while a raised in nigeria will know when to fight to make things happen.

Rotflmao! Of Course Nigeria fares better in stats when the STD infected Shukura and her friends Basira, Mukaila, Saliu and Gani in Abule Onimole tiotito ati ododo aren't added to the mix.

Abeg a Little common sense can go a long way.

I think it has to do with the kind of parents you have although society plays a key role as well as HRhotness pointed out that in Nigeria even your neighbours would caution you when you go wrong unlike the West. Children would definitely rebel but the fear of a parent goes a long way in instilling some sense of sanity in the child. By fear I do not mean terrifying your children so that they find it hard to come to you (of which most Nigerian parents are guilty of); but your children having it at the back of their minds that you are the sole authoritative figure and you deserve to/must be respected.

god_II:

i am a 17 year old male,ive been living in the UK for over three years now and i have to say,although i hate the flogging in nigeria,children raised there are by FAR better off.children in the UK are raised as victims of their surroundings and like idiots,they simply accept whatever situation they are dropped in while a raised in nigeria will know when to fight to make things happen.

I guess it's different in the UK because in the US, by 18 most kids are out of their parents homes and on their own two feet. This the norm that if a 22 years old is still at home, people look at him as a slacker. . . "who still in his parents basement Ewww!" ^{(Insert Valley girll accent)}

Most Nigerian parents here have begun to adopt that mentality also, that by 16 they make sure their kids have started working. I know a guy who went university out of his own pocket. . . and his parents are both here and they had the money, so it's not about having no choice. His parents instilled something in him and it took, which was why on his graduation day, his dad proudly handed him a portion of the school fees and told him to invest it.

So you see, it's about the PARENTS, not which city, which house, which room a child is raised. Parents really need to stop using "We are in Abroad" as an excuse to be lax in their duties.

dont think so, regardless of where kid's trained,its d type of training given to the Child that matters.yeah,the kid raised in the states is exposed to more opportunities but then it still balls down to the training, the trainer and the trainee,

Raising child is actually influenced by the child immediate environment as much as his parents. We can say that the youths in Nigeria are more descent than the youths in the UK. I did my secondary school in Nigeria in FGC and more than half of the boys smoke indian hemp and drink and do all sorth of criminal acts. They even do extortion outside school. Some even participate in armed robbery. And every year, every year, there will always be a war between the ss3 and ss2 students. The girls, hm, terrible. Some even get pregnats, almost every year. Some are even lesbo.  Such kind of behavior is not peculiar to my school, most of the boarding schools, especially the state owned schools/FGC and even private schools,  it happens. If you talk about UK, you have the hooties and all the knife carrying kids in London, I just believe it is a matter of the parents to look after their children and start telling them what is good and what is bad from the beginning.

However, when we talk about our culture. Definately back home is better. In UK children/youths have no speciall regards for the elderly. Everybody is mate. Hiya mate, ,

Baby Jinx:

I guess it's different in the UK because in the US, by 18 most kids are out of their parents homes and on their own two feet. This the norm that if a 22 years old is still at home, people look at him as a slacker. . . "who still in his parents basement Ewww!" ^{(Insert Valley girll accent)}

Most Nigerian parents here have begun to adopt that mentality also, that by 16 they make sure their kids have started working. I know a guy who went university out of his own pocket. . . and his parents are both here and they had the money, so it's not about having no choice. His parents instilled something in him and it took, which was why on his graduation day, his dad proudly handed him a portion of the school fees and told him to invest it.

So you see, it's about the PARENTS, not which city, which house, which room a child is raised. Parents really need to stop using "We are in Abroad" as an excuse to be lax in their duties.

Excellent! You are one of my favorite posters.

Hmm, there is no way the environment wont contribute to what a child becomes. Just the way the children in Europe and America gain a lot from the technological advancement over there, they also get influenced by the moral decadence and criminality of the area. Just do own own bit very well and pray that your children pass through america without the ills of America passing through them.

USA sucks - period

Baby Jinx:

I guess it's different in the UK because in the US, by 18 most kids are out of their parents homes and on their own two feet. This the norm that if a 22 years old is still at home, people look at him as a slacker. . . "who still in his parents basement Ewww!" ^{(Insert Valley girll accent)}

Most Nigerian parents here have begun to adopt that mentality also, that by 16 they make sure their kids have started working. I know a guy who went university out of his own pocket. . . and his parents are both here and they had the money, so it's not about having no choice. His parents instilled something in him and it took, which was why on his graduation day, his dad proudly handed him a portion of the school fees and told him to invest it.

So you see, it's about the PARENTS, not which city, which house, which room a child is raised. Parents really need to stop using "We are in Abroad" as an excuse to be lax in their duties.

haba are you not suppose to be washing plates now? how did you get permision to write that lot? you are so right.

it is always parental failure in my book. i dont know what it is like now. yrs ago i lived in east london i saw more black kids out there than oyinbo kids. their parents were out there looking for money. like i said somewhere here  some of these kids sad to say should never have been born because their parents know they wont have time for them but council flats have to be applied for as you know. it is a shame.

unless God intervenes some of these lovely made in europe kids already have records with the law that  would affect their tomorrow

god_II:

i am a 17 year old male,ive been living in the UK for over three years now and i have to say,although i hate the flogging in nigeria,children raised there are by FAR better off.children in the UK are raised as victims of their surroundings and like idiots,they simply accept whatever situation they are dropped in w[b]hile a raised in nigeria will know when to fight to make things happen.[/b]

as we can see 48years latter, we are really fighting to make things happen whilst oga is busy burning 200million inside cometary-lecturers are busy grabbing your girlfriends, awarding you marks based on your settlement levels

Nigerian raised kids are also raised as victims as their environment! As docile as anything,  Yes Sir Yes Ma to even criminals and rapists!!!

I've seen kids return from their 'schooling' in nigeria with advance scamming knowledge!!!

_{to the honest parent sending ther kids to naija are just looking for an easy way out-
you see them doing 80hrs a week extra!!}

Dis Guy:

as we can see 48years latter, we are really fighting to make things happen whilst oga is busy burning 200million inside cometary-lecturers are busy grabbing your girlfriends, awarding you marks based on your settlement levels

Nigerian raised kids are also raised as victims as their environment! As docile as anything, Yes Sir Yes Ma to even criminals and rapists!!!

I've seen kids return from their 'schooling' in nigeria with advance scamming knowledge!!!

[sub]to the honest parent sending ther kids to naija are just looking for an easy way out-
you see them doing 80hrs a week extra!!

bawomolo:
nigerians usually preach high moral standards but don't practice it. this is a country that has about 700,000 abortions annually, high rate of infidelity and std, high corruption and crime rate. so why are we claiming to be morally superior to liberal western nations?/

Please remind those Nigerian hypocrites and "I better pass you" people. If we had accurate statistics I bet the negative indices would be much higher.
With all these nonsense, they'll still pack themselves like sardines on Sunday going to church and on Friday going to mosque. Nigeria is filled with too many pathetic elements.

wetin una dey talk about? i never go yankee before oooooo, but d small wey i know, DO NOT TRIVALIZE, me thinks NAIJA RAISED KIDS are better. Anoda question is where in Naija is dis supposed kid being raised?

@HR.hotness
    Word, raising a child here in Uk is shit, there is a limit u can discipline ur child here in UK,there was a day i heard my neighbour's 10yrs old son saying ''Mum,don't be silly'', her mother didnt raise any eyebrow,no reasonable parents in Nigeria will take that rubbish,i believe the environment contribute largely to how u raise ur kids


- Na that one you see, I get off from a bus in London, one Nigerian mum said to her daughter get off the bus, the daughter replied "shurrup mum". I was like damn   

- A friend of mine younger sister called the police for her mum just because the mum told her not to do something not right but this young girl called the police and told something else trust me police came immediately. Somebody no get "Iwe Igbelu" , the person has to run for his dear life via the back door hehehe

If You dont raise a Child well

You dont Raise him well, Be it in Naija, Jand or Yankee or even ChinkoLand.

My Neighbours Child, an eight year old

if you hear him shouting on his mum, you will weep.

and he has a loud voice, i usuall hear some conversations from my room.

Mummmy!!! What is wrong with you na, you didnt buy the Viju Milk

Mummy!!! You are not serious oh!!!!

Telling other people, My mummy is sometimes stupid oh.

imagine this.

The Society has a part to play, of course

But what values have you been able to instill in your child?

abi na Society wey born am?

If You don't raise a Child well

You don't Raise him well, Be it in Naija, Jand or Yankee or even ChinkoLand.

My Neighbours Child, an eight year old

if you hear him shouting on his mum, you will weep.

and he has a loud voice, i usuall hear some conversations from my room.

Mummmy!!! What is wrong with you na, you didnt buy the Viju Milk

Mummy!!! You are not serious oh!!!!

Telling other people, My mummy is sometimes stupid oh.

imagine this.

The Society has a part to play, of course

But what values have you been able to instill in your child?

abi na Society wey born am?

Society has a very big part in raising a child. You may raise him/her well but she/he will be influenced by the environment. There is no scientific proof tho but it is obvious from my own observation that kids that get whipped by their parents rarely get a short end of the deal. Besides, in Naija, it's not only the parents affair, neighbours, teachers,strangers etc help to raise kids. A man that rarely know you in Naija will flog the hell out of you as a child if he catch you kissing your boyfriend behind the bush but such a thing can never happen in the west.

Nigerian raised kids will soon turn out like kids raised in the west because they rarely play in the streets again because of WII, PS3 etc, no more street soccer, playing hide and seek and visiting friends. Their lives are limited to long school hours, maid and their room TV. Imagine what will happen in 5 years time?

9ja kids are beta!

Children Raised In Nigeria Are Better?

What parameters are we going to us to compare them.We can't just conclude that one is better than the other.Are we going to judged by manners, cultural awareness,scholastic ability ,looks etc
These are some of the issues you will need to address .

Any conclusion arrived at without using specified /  universal parameters will be biased.

Remember however that children don't come with parenting manuals- they will turn out to be what parents and the society want them to be(socialization).[s]

The questions that then comes to mind is what kind of influence do you have on your child(ren).Is it positive or negative?Do you and you wife have a quickie in the house while yourchildren are just hearing distance away?Do you smoke in presence of your kids?What kind of area/society to do live in?Is your house next to a brothel, are area boys your neighboursetc

Anything bad you find in Niaja children u can as well find it in children over here.
But lack of Respect/Manners you see in children over cannot be seen in children back home.

I saw a gyl of 16 or there about spit to a bus driver, this driver is not less than 60 years.
What i cannot tell is what the driver did to her to warant spitting on him. I don't think any child of that age would think of that in niaja.

A child of 4 has threatend to call the police for her mum if she lock the door again and take the key to work. Just a mistake from her mum, she forgot to keep the key where they will pick it when they come back from school. I was shocked when i heard that. I called the little gyl to ask her why she said that, she told me thatz what their teacher told them.

Everything comes down to the parents and the environment. But I think the environment(e.g your locality, where you live) has a bit more significant influence on the kids. First of all, the system here in U.K tolerates lots of things that the nigerian system wouldn't. This accounts for the reason why i think it's a bit better to train a child in naij. But also, i'm not ignoring the fact that parents have a lot to do as well. Spending time with your kids and sharing the word of God is very important. It's also advisable to commit your children to God. The bible says the heart of a king is in God's hand, so you can only do your part as a parent while God will train them and purify their hearts.
I wasn't born in the u.k, and i don't regret it. I thank God i spent 16 years in nigeria, This has helped I and my siblings. Our house is peaceful, we know what to do and what we shouldn't. I have a younger brother who is really young in age but he understands as well. My dad doesn't condone nonsense and there's no way my younger brother misbehaves and he wouldn't get disciplined. my brother will dare not report because he knows it when he's wrong. I think the most important thing is that parents play their parts very well in any environment they find themselves.

@ Topic

This is a very interesting topic.
I was in New York last summer on vacation and happened to meet this Nigerian woman. I was supposed to help her send some of the stuffs she bought for her Kids back to Naija. Sympathising with her thinking that it was due to immigration problems or her inability to cater for the ids in the U.S, she said it was because she did not want to expose her kids to the moral decadence of the American society.          
I was stunned. I then ased who they were staying with bac home, and she said it was her grandmum, but that they always spent their long vacations in the U.S.

I am at a cross-road on this topic.

Kids raised in the U.S are more likely to be on drugs by the age of 16, run away from home, be very disrespectful to their elders and even parents, call the cops on their parents, be exposed to graphic and other vices at a tender age.
On the flip side, Kids raised in the U.S are most likely to get a better education, be independent, develope a skill at a young age, are capable of making productive decisions for themselves.

Kids raised in Naija. are just ,  . . . . . . . . . .  
Really sha, whats so special about a child raised in Naija?? We are basically handed everything from birth till marriage, we have to endure a tougher educational system, exposed to an uncountable amount of danger daily _{(Robbers, cultists, Okada, Danfo drivers, Agboros, e.t.c)}, grow up in a non functional society, learn the art of corrution from a very tender age _{(I mean as low as primary two pupils cheat on their exams)}, the children are not allowed to make any decisions for themselves till they are 22, e.t.c.

Apart from the fact that Nigerian raised ids are more respectful to elders than yankee raised kids, the rest na voicemail.

Yankee kids are better jare.

Although I must say that parents also play a significant part in the upbringing of the kid, but left to society alone, Yankee takes it anyday.

JJYOU:


it is always parental failure in my book. i don't know what it is like now. years ago i lived in east london i saw more black kids out there than oyinbo kids. their parents were out there looking for money. like i said somewhere here  some of these kids sad to say should never have been born because their parents know they wont have time for them but council flats have to be applied for as you know. it is a shame.

unless God intervenes some of these lovely made in europe kids already have records with the law that  would affect their tomorrow

I can't really blame the parents because they have to work, and it is always harder for those that have no papers to work The mum works in the day, whilst the dad works in the night, just to make ends meet, so they hardly have time for each other, let alone their kids. The government gives children loads of rights and no responsibility, hence the kids turn out to be terrors.

Overall, I still think children raised in Nigeria turn out better, this lot overseas have everything dropped into their laps, yet still misbehave. Ask them why they go round murking^killing each other, and they say its because they are bored and have nowhere to play and no youth centres to unwind.

Again, some kids are so well behaved at home, the parent would have an heart attack if they found out what their kids get up to outside. That's why when someone gets stabbed or killed, the parents come out to say "he was such a good child, helpful, God-fearing, blah, blah blah, then the the newspaper would post websites of the child holding a gun and messages from his friends for the "fallen soldier" to rest in peace . . .

My aunt's teenage daughters once called the police on their mum and got taken into Social Services care, they started begging their mum after a week that they wanted to come home and she was so happy. If I was her, I know what I'd do

If you want to send your child home for training, the best age is age 7, ^{ask the asians}

If you want to raise your child abroad, you need the grace of God and the grace of God and the grace of God and . . .

Well as for me, i am only going to talk about the moral values, overall, Nigeria is still better for child upbringing, even if you can't do it alone, relatives are ready to assist in training them, you get advice from Neighbors and friends, In Nigeria, i authoritatively say it, you can never see an underage child at any Night party, parents don't even allow some of their grown up kids to go out in the night anyhow, though parenting is not really what we can talk or try to analyze on the internet, but i still believe that due to the fact that the people (OLD) around every family in Nigeria still have the very high moral values in them, these also adds to the way children are brought up in Nigeria, when i was younger, you can never talk when your parents are talking, if you even misbehave, your immediate elder brother would be asked to discipline you and you would submit to him i have 10 brothers from same parents, i can boast that 10 of us that got raised here in Nigeria still have moral values in us,([s]the only one that got raised out of naija is as rough as ever but has been able to find his bearings ever since he moved back to naija[/s]) there are things i can count that was impacted into us by our parents, relatives, church members and the society at large that can't be found in the western world, that is Respect for anyone who is older than you are, them no born you well to wake up and not greet your elder brothers not to talk of your parents,


i will conclude that though kids raised in western world have Good governance, good infrastructures, basic amenities, better set of policing, judiciary, schools,technology e.t.c to make them develop in whatever areas very fast, most of them still lack moral attributes to become a good citizen in the future,  the general problem of corruption and other social devices in Nigeria is not really about how the kids were raised, it's because we lack these good structures put in place from the grassroots and the era we have found ourselves in Nigeria is gradually becoming that of the survival of the fittest, that's why corruption has existed(we are seeing improvement),  But if we can just get 50% of all these good things, no country would be able to compare with the glory that will bestow this country


Most rich countries in the world now went through this stage we are facing in Nigeria now, "if you trace the heritage of some of the rich people in these western world, you would discover that most of them made their money out of other people's downfall (war, slavery, arm struggle, exploitations of weaker countries)which goes down to corruption",  so no country can ever boast of not having being corrupt one time in their existence.

every society has its own advantages and disadvantages though some could be better but not in every aspect. kids abroad become independent and notorious early in life but its in naija u will see a 30 year old still depending on peeps for fees etc. kids brought up in naija can cope in any society but kids here can't cos they don't really know what hardship is all about.

@ ALL,

Well I do agree with what most already said. But I strongly believe that the only think that matters most is the discipline @ home and the upbringing. Hence, the responsibility lies on the parent regardless of whatever part of the world the kids are raised.

But I must say that most kids raised in Nigeria is likely to be naturally corrupt ! Because whether we admit it or not "corruption is a way of life in Nigeria" it is every where only very few self disciplined, principle and morally coded Nigerians are not corrupt (regardless of wherever part of the world they live in)

Well, I guess that on Nairaland a good thread is one that people cannot rest unless they say something.

However poster, GOOD as HOW?
Talking about % of Nigerian raised childeren then HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!
cos of the following reasons,

poor

EDUCATION
HEALTHCARE
FEEDING
INFORMATION (exposure to proper TV programmes, books, information from parents and guardians or even teachers)
RECREATION (No playgrounds or walk and talk, sports etc)
etc etc etc

Most families and parents do not concentrate on where, how and who their children mix or play with.
Most growing children emulate their already arrogant parents, older brothers and sisters or aunts uncles, teachers etc, who will not stop at picking a quarrel or saying bad language at an offending neighbor or stranger in their presence. etc etc etc

so poster, before you make me say too too much you need to define what aspect of GOOD you are looking at.
cos an average nigerian kid, take from a random sample, is the kid hawking on the street, selling for the mum at the market, trecking to and from school or simply just hanging at a neighbor's window or sitting with mature relatives watching a silly nigerian movie.

HOWEVER if you conduct an intensive search you will find some kids JUST LIKE those raised in yankee.

I have another thing to add, i am not saying hawking and selling on the street by kids or children is good, but it also shows that most kids in Nigeria are not as disobedient as kids elsewhere, In Nigeria, you can send your kids or younger brother to deal so chores for you and they will respect you by doing most of what you sent them to do, infact in Nigeria, you can send your neighbor's child an errand and some of them will delightedly execute your errands , but its rare in the western world

Let me aplogize in advance for this long post. This topic mean a lot to me . . . and I like to write. You've been warned. 

When I came to America, My older brother was in charge. Heaven please us but that guy was and still is the king of Paranoia world. When I say paranoia I mean the kind of person who  barked on the phone “Who are you? What do you want with her? If I catch you near her, I will break you leg, do you hear? You stupid useless thing, you think you have seen awuf. How old are you? Put your father on the phone now. Does he know you are calling girls at you age?” If a guy mistakenly called for me. . . . type of paranoia.

Lawd-a-mercy, this guy was on such a trip my other brothers had to tell to calm down or he will cause another type of issue - Resentment, he still didn’t care. He wanted to know where I was, what I was doing and how I was doing it. It took me awhile to really understand that cell phones aren’t tracking devices. His friends nicked named him “Baba ikoko” (small daddy. . . I think). Now looking back, I can honestly  say I don’t see anything wrong with what he did because that would have been the case had I remained in my father’s house in Nigeria. Keep in mind, this was just my brother. . .  to whom I could have easily said “You are not the boss-o-me! You are not my daddy. . .  so sod off”. 

A BROTHER!!

This is why I think parents saying “oh there is no time, blah, blah, blah this is America, this is UK, aaah, we are in abroad. . .  wah, wah, wah” is just excuses. Except you can clearly show how when you were crossing over the Atlantic, some kind of wind blew and it took away the core belief of your Nigerian upbringing (assuming you were raised properly)  I don’t see why you can’t have that instilled in your children.

Granted we don’t have the extended family support  we have back in Nigeria but then again, who is to blame for that? US. . . WE. . . NIGERIANS. We get here finish, it’s all me myself and I, Mr. & Mrs. Lone Ranger,  It’s all about not wanting other Nigerians to know our business, so we isolate ourselves from other Nigerians and we expect to have a community like we do back home. Secondly, We don’t take pride in our Nigerianess, that  is why in some churches (another avenue for community support used by other cultures like the Hispanics and Asians) they won’t allow you to speak in your native language. No Nigerian Language songs, no Nigerian Language preaching. Why? Oh they want to attract Americans. . . Oh really? How’s about you take care of your own first before attracting Americans? That is of course if we are all turning a blind eye to the fact that for every one Nigerian church there are 10 American churches.,. . . so they might not really need us. Just sayin'

My point? We throw ourselves away and then cry foul because we are lost.

Back to my paranoid brother, he enrolled me and my younger brother in this Youth Program, mostly Africans and honestly back then. . . . Okay, okay not really back then, back then because it make me sound like those old people telling “back then” stories. . . LOL.  Anyway, when it first started we were like 50 teenagers from different African countries, the proportion of Nigerian teens to the proportion of other countries was the lowest. Now I have moved from teenager to Group counselor and guess what. . . It is still the lowest despite the fact that the membership is close to 300 and they very few Nigerian children there are just so out of the loop when it comes to Nigeria, I have to keep asking “Are you sure your name is SEUN and not SEAN” because they know nothing. How do explain a child wanting to learn a Yoruba song to surprise his dad on father’s day or counselors working after hours helping a Nigerian kid write a story about Nigeria, for his cultural day at school. . . . Meanwhile, he knows all the Yoruba abuses there is to know.

Sometimes, I look at these kids and think. . . You know, right now, this child’s mind is in my hands and if I want to screw with it. . . I can (not that I will oooh. Abeg I believe in Karma, gotta protect my interest for when I have my own kid, besides I fear hell too much. . . LOL) . . .anyway, the point is, these parents are leaving the minds of their child open to corruption, they are not putting anything in there to combat it and when everything pafuka finish, they scream “Yeparipa! America oooooooooooh”

What irks me even more is when they come to me or one of the other counselors saying “Hey Biodun loves you so much, ehn. He can’t stop talking about you. Marra of fact, the only way I got him to do soso was by telling him I will report him to you".  I’m like “what the eff. . . Don’t put that responsibility on me, I am not much older than Biodun, so don’t. Let him fear YOU, let ME get HIM to do things by saying I will report HIM to YOU. . .  You silly, silly woman” I don’t say that but I think it and then say “God forgive me” immediately after. What? I’m only human. . . .shooo.  You know, despite the silliness of the mommies, at least they are still somewhat involved.

Daddy’s participation. . .  zilch to none. Okay that’s unfair to them, once in awhile when the mommies are running late, they call us to please call the daddies to come pick up their child because if they (the mommies) call the daddies “Aaah, He won’t gree”, so we do and because of fake propriety the daddies come, then proceed to give us the “’ow hare you doing, you seen my big car? Means I gots money, I will take care you, gimme your number and I pick you hup after I drop my kid on the front lawn of our house” look. . . So freaking disgusting but hey, involvement is involvement, no?

We complain that Nigerian kids in the US aren’t raised properly, when we barely have time for them. We say they are not Nigerian enough when we don’t teach them how ( like they are supposed to know you kneel down or prostrate through osmosis). We say there is no extended family support yet we isolate ourselves from other Nigerians and leave the raising to one parent. Seriously, what do we expect? Isn’t that like planting guava and then expecting juicy oranges?

Ughhh baby jinx, it took me 846 seconds to digest what you just wrote, i am sweating

Ms. Lurker:

Excellent! You are one of my favorite posters.

Thank you!

JJYOU:

haba are you not suppose to be washing plates now? how did you get permission to write that lot? you are so right.

Hey me too I don't know what's wrong with me lately! I'm becoming a maverick. . . a rogue housewife. Why, just the other day, I told my husband "In a sec" when he asked me to come rub his feet.

it is always parental failure in my book. i don't know what it is like now. years ago i lived in east london i saw more black kids out there than oyinbo kids. their parents were out there looking for money. like i said somewhere here  some of these kids sad to say should never have been born because their parents know they wont have time for them but council flats have to be applied for as you know. it is a shame.

unless God intervenes some of these lovely made in europe kids already have records with the law that  would affect their tomorrow

You know what's funny, the parents will say its because of the kids they are woking 120 hrs a week. Give me a break! Your child needs your love and support, needs to know you are THERE for him not Game Boy and Adidas. I know a woman who quit her job at a bank to work as a teacher in a her son's daycare. Less money. . . no doubt about that but evey day, after work she puts her son in the car and they drive home, very happy. To be honest, initially, I thought she had lost her mind, I swear I was convinced something happened at the bank. . . she was fired, she stole money and ran away. . . something to explain what I thought was an irrational act but they are both happy. I'm not saying parents should quit their jobs and start working at their children's schools, I'm saying stop using the excuse of "I am doing it for them" coz it doesn't hold water.