Examination Malpractice? The much dreaded physics exams was only hours away. Kunle was restless. He doubted if he knew enough to excel. His mind started to race. He was beginning to pant at the thought flying through his mind. Just this one time. Otherwise, how else? He convinced himself. As the examination papers were served…
Read More
“Good girl!” “You got 10/10! That’s my smart boy!” “I love your picture!’ “Good job” “You are awesome!” You’re the best! These comments sound positive but they’re simply external praise, external judgement. What ends up happening is the child being praised continues to perform the behaviour because it pleases the adult. I’m sure you’re quite…
Read More
Hmmmmmm…. As the children’s day was wrapping up, I just found myself reminiscing about some of my interesting childhood memories. Talking of memories, I have loads of them to choose from both the good, the bad and the ugly and even the bizarre like I am about to share today hoping we all learn from…
Read More
If you’re like most parents, you’d choose having fun with your children rather than those feelings of frustration and guilt that arise from sibling fights and rivalry. In as much as you may not totally be able to eliminate the fight, how about strategies to make your kids become more cooperative, self-sufficient, empowered and able…
Read More
Holidays lives in our imaginations throughout the year because it nourishes our souls. The warmth….the fun…the sheer deliciousness. But mostly, the luxury of time, unbounded by school. Time to explore, to make new friends, to lie on your back and watch the clouds billow. The vivid aliveness and freedom of a child’s holiday can change…
Read More
The school calls at 1pm to tell Mrs Junaid that her 10yr old son Adam, got into a fight with a boy named Lam at break time. At 3:30pm, Adam comes home. Mom starts the conversation: “How was your day?” “Good. You made me my favourite samosas for break time. Thank you, mom!” “Speaking about…
Read More
I need advice on how to build confidence in my child. He often complains that he doesn’t have friends in school and feels like he doesn’t fit in You are not alone. A lot of parents feel huge concern over what they see as their child’s lack of self-confidence which comes in the way of…
Read More
Despite the negative statistics, some parents still feel the need to showcase the talent of their child to the world through social media. Here are a few tips to stay safe: Monitoring Some parents have failed to monitor what their child does on social media. They allow him freedom without any orientation or monitoring. By…
Read More
Mila and her twin, Emma are 2-year-olds who have become popular on social media for their “natural acting” talent. King Nahh is an 11-year-old who gives motivational speeches. He actually started at the age of 7. Now he is a popular figure – courtesy of social media. Back in Nigeria, there was the case of…
Read More
As I scrolled fast past the long posts, I noticed the alluring comments that followed. Despite, I choose not to scroll back in the moment to the article that generated all the commotion. Shortly after, I kept on getting a particular post from almost all my personal peeps. Curiosity got the better of me-…
Read More
Several years back, precisely 2008, my friends and I were on a trip to the UK. We actually went for a workshop on “Every Child Matters” at the Thames Valley University, Reading. Over the weekend of the training, we decided to go see a common friend in Birmingham. We passed two nights at our friend’s…
Read More
Ajoke applied into the University of Ibadan to study medicine. Her friend, Rose, applied into the same institution but for economics. Having finished from the same secondary school, they were both excited and looked forward to continuing their friendship at the university. As soon as the date of the Post-UTME exams was communicated, Mr Ben,…
Read More
And whether he made it there or not, no one could say. It was only when he was expected to return and he hadn’t, that words went out for his search. It took 48 hrs to find his lifeless and mutilated body… No witnesses to give any words…yet. There may be more or worse gory…
Read More
The release of the last Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results brought happy faces to the average Nigerian parent. In most homes, their candidates’ performance was great- with the majority scoring over the average mark of two hundred points. This qualified them to write the post-UTME exams- at least in those institutions were such…
Read More