Speaking at a parents’ forum recently held at Greensprings
School, Lekki campus, a child counselling expert, Mrs Lauretta Ani, advised
parents to encourage self-awareness in their children as it was an essential
skill they needed to cope in school and beyond.
Ani in a statement signed by the school told parents to
teach their children how to name their emotions and ways of responding to these
emotions.
She said, “This knowledge will help children open up
appropriately to school staff on challenges they have in school and be provided
with adequate help.”
She emphasised that “Many children have busy parents who do
not have time to listen to them.”
Ani urged parents to take time to listen to their children
and validate their emotions by teaching them how to know what they were feeling
and how to respond adequately.
She hinted that schools also had a role to play in helping
children to be self-aware, by complementing the efforts of parents.
“While parents should do their part to make their children
self-aware, schools must also design programmes that will reinforce their children’s
self-awareness. For instance, at Greensprings School, we teach our students
about self-assessment, goal-setting, character development, and emotional
intelligence – and all these help them to become responsible individuals. We
also organise frequent forums aimed at discussing proper ways of raising
children,” she concluded.