There was a time when a child belonged to everyone. You would hear it's said that the child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth. In those days, no one hesitated to correct a wandering child or a wayward young one. A neighbour’s word held the power of the parent. Respect was woven into the fabric of daily life, the very air we breathed.

But times have changed. The village has grown silent, each family an island surrounded by walls. In the city, neighbours pass each other like strangers, wrapped in their own troubles, too busy to lend a hand or a word. Try to correct another’s child today, and you will feel the heat of their parent’s pride and anger. You may even be labeled a busybody. And so, we mind our business, and the child, left unguarded, slips away.

I have seen how technology has snatched our children from us. Once, a child would run home with urgency, believing that if they did not, the sky would fall. A parent’s tale held the weight of truth. They spat on the ground and warned that if the spittle dried before the child returned, they would face the spirits’ wrath. And so, the child ran like the wind, for they believed in the unseen. But now? Tell such a tale to a child today, and they will laugh, or worse, they will consult their search engine and return with a question, “Did you lie?”

Our children carry the world in their pockets, and with a swipe of a finger, they can summon knowledge from every corner. Once, wisdom was the elder’s to give; it flowed down like a river. Now, children teach us things we cannot comprehend, showing us worlds within screens that our minds struggle to grasp. I have seen parents, helpless before a screen, while their children, still so young, wield technology with the ease of breathing. The elders said, “When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.” And so it is. Even the little ones, with their devices, roam further than we could imagine.

It was once enough for a child to know their boundaries, to stay close, to heed the words of their parents. Today, they carry a doorway in their hands, a bridge to the world. Even as they sit locked in their rooms, they roam places we have never seen, meet people we do not know. How, then, do we hold them close? How do we shield them from the shadows that lurk in that bright world of theirs?

We cannot forget the first years, those sacred ten seasons of a child’s life. The foundation laid in those early days remains, even if the winds of the world are fierce. But these first ten years have grown harder to secure. Life demands much of us, and time slips through our fingers. Yet, look around. The difference between a child tended with care and one left to grow wild is clear as the day. For as the elders remind us, the child who is allowed to grow unchecked will one day become the storm that uproots all.

In this modern age, we must choose the legacy we leave behind. Will we stand as beacons for our children, or will we let the world shape them as it pleases? Many of us ask these questions too late, after damage has taken root. But better late than never. To seek is still to hope, to act is still to believe.

So I tell you this: hold your children close, teach them with patience, and guide them with wisdom, even as the world pulls them in all directions. For though they carry devices that open doors, they still need a hand to lead them, a voice to call them back.

𝗕𝘆 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲

©️ 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲

𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗟𝘁𝗱, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶, 𝗞𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁-𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲. 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝘁 +𝟮𝟱𝟰𝟳𝟵𝟴𝟴𝟴𝟵𝟱𝟭𝟬.