I have friends who are older and very fit because of their lifestyle. They don't drink or smoke and exercise daily. They also have the most unfit kids who don't follow their example. This has always worried me as I am raising young children. I have also seen families with hard-working and wealthy parents who raise the laziest and most entitled children.
We always want our children to do better than us, but when and where does this go wrong for most people? I think it comes from the time and attention we personally give our kids and the lapses we allow.
My wife and I are early risers. I have a particular sleep problem I am still trying to solve, but my kids can sleep all day on vacation if you let them. A friend with an older son who had just graduated and was back home, jobless, used to tell me how alarmed he was that the son would go out all night, come back early in the morning, and sleep all day.
I told him then that if he didn't force him to change that habit, he would remain jobless and stay with his parents longer. They eventually forced him to change, and he moved out. He has a job now and struggles a lot. His parents are concerned that he isn't thriving. He is now almost 30, and I think about this all the time. At 25, I was a beast and had started many businesses.
While we want our kids and young adults to experience life on their own terms in a world vastly different from the one we grew up in, we can't help but notice that others whose children were more disciplined are thriving better. One indicator I have seen that correlates with success in younger people is fitness.
A friend’s son started going to the gym regularly, and he even inspired his cousins to do so. I checked on LinkedIn recently, and he is doing exceptionally well as a lawyer and investment banker without any family connections or assistance. His younger cousins, who are looking up to him, are following in his footsteps. I decided to get my kids to spend more time with him.
The role models our children need may be closer to their age than ours. It is why we need to amplify the lifestyles of young, disciplined, and successful people more. Not every person will make it through creative pursuits. I stress this to my kids all the time. There are billions of YouTube channels, but there is only one MrBeast or IShowSpeed.
Social media is highlighting more unrealistic role models than the most useful ones. My daughter is likely one of the most intelligent young children that I know, but because she doesn't want to be seen as a nerd, she is adapting to popular culture to blend in, in a way that scares me. This sometimes affects the way she learns. While I don't want to restrict her now from experiencing the world, I have realized that she needs different role models.
My son’s role models are nerds, and he nerds out in ways that surprise me and it is also worrying. We can be watching a movie, and he goes online to research it and summarise the plot so he can leave to code. He is not experiencing life enough outside the internet.
They will either eventually be ok in a world very different from ours or struggle in a world that becomes worse than ours, without the skills to build personal resilience and strong social skills.
I recently had a personal experience that made me realize I was fortunate to have left home early and to have different role models from my parents. Having a broken home led to different outcomes for my siblings and me, but the fact that I had strong personalities like my mother’s uncle and the uncles I grew up around helped me learn a lot more about life and priorities.
The world is a very complex place, and life is not a bed of roses. While we want the best outcomes for our kids, we have to finally admit that they will learn far more from others than they will ever learn from us. The best thing we can do for them is expose them to the right kind of people early enough, then hope and pray that we didn't misread those people.
You are unlikely to ever be as rich as Dangote, and you have already missed the boat to fame as either an athlete or an artiste. But you have gained immortality by your efforts in pursuit of a sustainable and relevant educational system for the youthful victims of Nigerian..👏🏿
The painful thing about the children that were kidnapped in oyo is that no one in this current misfortune of an administration is saying anything about those babies. This is so cruel, they have been there for 44 fucking days!!!
It's another cold rainy day to remind you that some kids as young as 2 years, with their teachers, are somewhere in the forest in Oyo state with kidnappers. 😭
The kidnappers made my brother call my dad yesterday at 6:34pm.
The call was made using my brother's phone number.
They are demanding for 50m.
My dad called back and the number was unreachable.
The kidnap took place around 9am on Sunday Morning, his car was found close to Y junction in Nkwelle, Oyi local government area of Anambra State.
An eyewitness informed us that he was double crossed by a hilux with armed men in military outfits, he was not alone in the car, he was on his way to church with a girl and they were both taken.
This is the recorded call that was made to my dad and a video of where his car was found.
@HarrisonBbi18@PoliceNG@HQNigerianArmy@AnambraNewMedia@CCSoludo
Nigeria has now been delisted from the International Maths Olympiad, whose finals are happening in Shanghai, China, this July.
It is one of the most prestigious academic competitions in the world.
Nigeria can now only participate as an observer nation, while other countries can participate fully.
This was because of the Ministry of Education’s inability to fund students for 4 consecutive years through National Mathematical Center.
It’s a big shame for Nigeria.
These Police Officers just parked me at Bolade, Oshodi, pointed guns at me, and forced me to transfer N100,000 them. When my bank app showed "exceeded transfer limit", they dragged me to a nearby POS to do it with my card.
They initially demanded 150k each.
They were 4 in number.
These are the names I could copy:
Francis Adekunle
2087495551
Kuda
Friday Ikpe
9136237110
Okay
This is the phone number of the notorious Officer Friday Ikpe 09136237110. I got it from his opay
@PoliceNG@BenHundeyin@Princemoye1
Please my mutuals, if you see this on your TL, help repost or tag other relevant authorities until these criminals are apprehended.
Oyo teachers and students have been in the bush for 34 days.
Borno teachers and students have been in the bush for 34 days.
Kindly lend your voice and demand for their release.