The auxiliary bishop of Onitsha, His Lordship, the Most Rev. Denis Isizoh, last Sunday reminded parents that it is their responsibility to train up their children at least to the age of 18 before leaving them to face the world.
The prelate gave the advice during Sunday evening instruction at Our Lady of Victory Parish, Umueri.
According to him, parents should not get tired of performing their primary assignment, which is raising their wards in a godly way. He emphasised that on no account should parents abandon their children on the grounds that the children are beyond their control.
“Be in control of your child by teaching that child about God from toddler(hood) and you will be surprised that he or she will grow with that knowledge and will not deviate from the moral teachings he or she was exposed to at the younger age. Don’t wait until your wards grow up before you begin to teach them about God or morals since such [an] attempt may not yield good results.
“Secondly, when you fail to train up your child in a good way, your old age will witness [a] great level of neglect and you are likely to suffer at that time because untrained children hardly remember to take care of their ageing parents.”
Bishop Isizoh also enjoined parents to shun the idea of giving out their female children who are yet to attain adulthood in marriage, describing it as an abuse of marriage.
“Be more interested in giving your female children education and train them to [a] reasonable extent before giving them out for marriage, otherwise you are subjecting that child to an unpredictable future.”
