₦airaland Forum

One thing you should know about academic success in children as a parent is the fact that the academic success of your child starts from early years and it has more to do with you rather than the educational system.

Oftentimes, parents blame schools for the academic lapses and shortcomings of their children instead of looking inward. I am not in anyway saying that schools should be absorbed from blames as regards to poor academic performance in children, but what I am saying is that everything begins with the parents.

For most of us who are Millennials, I would excuse our parents and grandparents more than the way I would excuse Millennial parents who are currently raising Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids. This is because for us who are Millennials, our parents and grandparents were not as exposed as parents of today. They did not have internet; neither did they have Open Source Learning and other modern learning tools and platforms. Today, these things are easily accessible to anyone who wants to make use of them.

I have compiled some ways that parents can use to raise brilliant children in Nigeria where the government does little to fund education and improve the standard. Take note that this post is not AI generated, but has been compiled by me based on the fact that I was in the academia for years as a Learning Support Head before switching to another career.

1. Start very early: Yes! This is the first step. Start very early. By age 2 to 3, you should start reading to your child. Make good use of pictures and colours. Children love both and are usually captivated by them. Use the alphabet to make songs. You can go further by connecting sounds to letters. This should be done in a fun and playful way. This is one of the reasons why parenting is intentional.

2. Make them see reading as fun and not punishment: While growing up, our parents screamed at us to read our books. Some children were even flogged mercilessly and denied food for not studying. That is a wrong way of cultivating the culture of reading in children. When you make children see reading as a punishment instead of fun, it is a already a pathway to academic problems. The resultant effect is that the child pretends to be studying when you are around, but goes back to whatever he or she has been doing as soon as you step out. At the age of 6,7 and probably 8, you should read with your child/children. Listen to them while they read, and ask them to analyse stories and answer questions when they are done. When they understand that reading is fun, it becomes a natural habit.

3. Reduce the amount of entertainment time: This is one reason why many children perform poorly academically. The amount of time they have for entertainment far outweighs the amount of time they spend on studying. Too much movie watching, countless hours playing video games, etc can slow the academic growth of a child. Some parents even act abnormally by giving their phones to their kids to play games. The child can spend hours on the phone while his/her homework is left undone. Schedule time for your kids. There should be time for studying and time for entertainment. Entertainment time should not be anytime. While the school do theirs, do your own part as a parent, and do it diligently. If your child still cannot read at the age of 7, you should be worried.

4. Buy novels for your kids: Apart from confidence, do you know why some people are better speakers than others? It is because they possess a larger collection of vocabularies. Novels enable children to learn new words and improve their vocabulary. Buy books for them and encourage them to read. Don't be upset when your child is not given the opportunity to address guests at the school's graduation ceremony. The child who has been chosen for that might have a larger collection of vocabulary than your child.

5. Teach your children how to think and not what to think: If you can afford a school that uses the British curriculum, do not hesitate on that. The difference between the British curriculum and the Nigerian curriculum is that the former teaches children how to think, but the latter teaches children what to think.

Look at this example:

The Lost Wallet

Chidinma and Musa were walking home from school when they found a wallet on the roadside. Inside were some money and an identity card. Instead of keeping it, they took the wallet to their class teacher.

The next day, the owner came to the school. He thanked the children for their honesty and explained that the wallet contained money he needed for his small business. The head teacher praised Chidinma and Musa during the morning assembly.

The children learnt that honesty is rewarded and that doing the right thing helps others, even when no one is watching.

Now, critically look at these questions:

Nigerian Curriculum
Answer the following questions
1. Where was Chidinma and Musa coming from?
2. What did Chidinma and Musa find?

British Curriculum
Answer the following questions
1. What do you think would have happened to Chidinma and Musa if they had kept the wallet that they found?
2. Rewrite and improve this story by adding two more paragraphs.

You can clearly see how the British curriculum challenges learners to think, while on the other hand, the Nigerian curriculum expects the child to answer questions robotically by picking answers straight from the passage.

Lastly, with all what I have posted here, if you don't have the mental strength or capacity to embark on this as parents, you are leaving the academic progress of your child solely on the school, its system, and the society at large. This is the more reason why you should be intentional with who you are getting married to.

I am Rapmoney. Thank you.

6. Teach them to become future entrepreneurs by frying akara, corn and kuli kuli as First Lady instructed

Watch as some people will quote me to disagree, though they claim to agree with the First Lady

This your thread isn't for ajepako children. Those ones already know how to steal meats from pot at the age of 5. I don't know who teaches them. They're bandits.

Story! Just pray for God’s Grace and Guidance.

The parents of all the children that transformed into bandits & armed robbers did not have any choice or control over the fates of their children.

Some destinies cannot be averted, and sometimes you meet your ugly destiny on the roads you chose to avoid it.

There’s no prayer manual or handbook for destiny.

Very valid points raised.

Nice piece of information..well done!

Fantastic thread. More power to your elbow

Very educational write up. Louder please. Our lives get better when we take full responsibility for our inactions and actions too

@op, how many kids do you have? Are you writing this from experience or just what you think is the ideal method of engaging kids intelligence?
Nigeria will humble you by the time you are done thinking of what they would eat and take to school for lunch, you won't have time for this your list of things to do

givedemwotowoto:
6. Teach them to become future entrepreneurs by frying akara and corn as First Lady instructed

Watch as some people will quote me to disagree, though they claim to agree with the First Lady

And kuli kuli. Don't forget kuli kuli

So it is God that will come down from heaven to train your child? Lazy way of thinking

Saturnalia:
Story! Just pray for God’s Grace and Guidance.

The parents of all the children that transformed into bandits & armed robbers did not have any choice or control over the fates of their children.

Some destinies cannot be averted, and sometimes you meet your ugly destiny on the roads you chose to avoid it.

There’s no prayer manual or handbook for destiny.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Just to make nigeria look less...

I have to disagree with that assessment, as the example provided doesn't accurately reflect the strengths of both systems. There is certainly room to streamline the Nigerian curriculum by removing unnecessary subjects, but entirely dismissing it while elevating the British system overlooks the unique value of our educational structure. We need to look at the reality of what works best for our context



Some of us pass through both system and I am one of them, authoritative speaking Nigeria have the best curriculum

The Nigerian system is often criticized for being overly dense, but its core philosophy was built to produce highly resilient, broadly knowledgeable graduates.



Nigerian graduates often come across as incredibly brilliant, sharp, and capable of handling massive workloads. This isn't an accident—it’s a direct product of the survival-of-the-fittest environment created by the Nigerian educational system.

Add to all that, manual skills.
Book is not everything.

All books and no hands-on skills make children dull, and clumsy.


I learned baking and knitting as a little girl, and I really enjoyed it.

Even now, those skills are still with me.

warrah:
@op, how many kids do you have? Are you writing this from experience or just what you think is the ideal method of engaging kids intelligence?
Nigeria will humble you by the time you are done thinking of what they would eat and take to school for lunch, you won't have time for this your list of things to do

The ball is always in your court. Whatever you do with your time is up to you sir.

Wow ! A nice one. Very insightful !

Good one.. points well taken as a Parent myself.

Thanks

Mariangeles:
Add to all that, manual skills.
Book is not everything.

All books and no hands-on skills make children dull, and clumsy.


I learned baking and knitting as a little girl, and I really enjoyed it.

Even now, those skills are still with me.

Exactly! Well stated.. Hands-on-skills is very good

For example my son already started learning piano, also learning chess and computer.

givedemwotowoto:
6. Teach them to become future entrepreneurs by frying akara, corn and kuli kuli as First Lady instructed

Watch as some people will quote me to disagree, though they claim to agree with the First Lady

The good thing is that your Obi will never ever be president of Nigeria

Great intellectual!
Many won't see value in this your discovery cos we are in a country where parents teach and encourage their children to copy in academics.

You are a scholar, indeed

Children should always involve in practical home work/chores

The brain develops fast as the hand moves from early age.

Don't pamper your child's hand and destroy his mental potential... give them work, not only the house helps

Very informative, I learnt alot here truly

20 more characters needed

What a beautiful write up❤️❤️❤️

Peller sef

Wetin pesin no go see for inside this matter?

Thundafireseun:
You sound very very childish

You go cryyyyyyyy sotay……..

In summary
Catch them young

donmik:
Children should always involve in practical home work/chores

The brain develops fast as the hand moves from early age.

Don't pamper your child's hand and destroy his mental potential... give them work, not only the house helps

This is the best advice here. Chores are very important in the development of a child. It gives them the confidence that they are able to start and finish a task. Also, chores make them feel accomplished after they see the result, like in cleaning dishes, making bed, or vacuuming floor. These are accomplishment.
Another reason to let them do things is that they will learn not to kick cans down the room hoping that somehow , someone else will pick the can. In other words, chores give a sense of responsibility.
All these are transferable skills related to academic learning . For children to be in right mind to learn, they must have confidence, be responsible, show commitment to accomplish the best, and be ready to for the rigor of learning.

givedemwotowoto:
6. Teach them to become future entrepreneurs by frying akara, corn and kuli kuli as First Lady instructed

Watch as some people will quote me to disagree, though they claim to agree with the First Lady

Give them 10k each to support Thier business as Peter Obi said 😃

jamafa:
Give them 10k each to support Thier business as Peter Obi said 😃

Are you comparing a President with N68 trillion budget whose primary job is to create opportunities for the people, with a private citizen?

Something is not right with that comparison

Also give them the freedom to make their choices when that time comes.
https://www.nairaland.com/8598916/chimamanda-adichie-case-choiceless-children#138129653

Most incompetent leaders today were choiceless children yesterday, joining professions because "my daddy is a lawyer and so are my siblings. It'll feel odd if I don't study law too"
Sometimes these manipulations sr subtle, other times, they're direct. How many children can get support from their parent if they say they'd love to become carpenters or dancers?

Very nice post. Your points are all valid especially #5. I personally engage my kids in such mental exercise right from early age cos I deliberately wanted to build thinking capacity.