At a SparkXplorer parenting webinar, Family Systems Coach Praise Fowowe urged Nigerian parents to rethink how they’re preparing their children—emotionally and mentally—for global success, warning of rising youth emotional distress and suicide.
BUSINESS DAY NG
Are you scripting or training your children to be emotionally stable and successful abroad? That was the million-dollar question Mr Praise Fowowe, an internationally acclaimed Family Systems Coach, asked parents at a recent parenting webinar organised by SparkXplorer, an afterschool learning platform, for Spark Scholars’ parents.
If you aspire to japa one day or perhaps you are unmarried now but have plans to give your children a Global North citizenship by birthing them in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, France, etc. when you eventually starts to raise a family, or you plan to send your children abroad for quality education then you may want to read this article. We can even flip the question. Are you scripting or training your children to be emotionally stable and successful here in Nigeria?
Why is that important?
The world has become global and success translates to leadership, respect, and legacy. Societies and regions today are jostling to lead the world. Nigeria and Africa cannot afford to lag behind in the race, fighting for crumbs, hence the need to position their next generation for success.
The rat race and absentee parenting
Emotion and success are intertwined and Fowowe’s question has become critical because many children today are emotionally damaged, particularly in the Western world, where there is a liberal attitude to marriage, family, and parenting. Many African immigrant homes abroad are caught up in the rat race of survival, with both parents in many such homes running multiple jobs like a DJ on a Serato Pioneer console, and very little time for actual parenting. Such slack parenting is also on the increase in Nigeria. Thus, there is an alarming increase in emotionally challenged youth who endure absentee parents and turn to whomever or wherever they can access to find answers to life’s questions.
Disturbing youth suicide rate due to emotional turmoil
Data has shown that mental health issues are a mounting concern in teenagers and young adults. A 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 34-year-olds in the US. Of this number, 19.6% are black or African American. A Yale School of Medicine publication last year revealed that “suicide is rising dramatically in preteens as young as 8 years old as well.” And the publication revealed that the “trend is even more alarming regarding Black children and teens,”… where the “suicide rate among Black youth ages 10-17 increased by 144% between 2007 and 2020.”