The Power of Life and the Morality of Our Children
By Oluwole Solanke (PhD, FCIB)
Life is a sacred gift — a divine trust handed down from generation to generation. It is a journey filled with infinite possibilities, boundless energy, and, most importantly, a moral responsibility. Among the many blessings of life, the most precious is the gift of children. They are the living continuity of our values, our legacy, and our dreams. But in an age of shifting norms and digital distractions, how we guide the morality of our children has become more crucial than ever.
The Power of Life
Life itself is powerful not just because of its breath or duration, but because of its impact. A single life, well-lived, can transform families, communities, and even nations. That power is most evidently seen in how we raise our children. Every child is a seed of greatness, but the quality of soil (home), the amount of sunlight (love), and the discipline of watering (training and guidance) determine the fruit they bear.
We must remember that life is not just to be lived, but to be led — led with intention, virtue, and purpose. When parents and guardians recognize that the lives entrusted to them in the form of children are potential beacons of light, then nurturing those lives becomes a divine duty, not just a personal choice.
Morality: The Compass of the Next Generation
Morality is the compass that keeps the ship of life from crashing into the rocks of destruction. In raising children today, academic success alone is not enough. We must also cultivate honesty, humility, empathy, and responsibility — values that stand the test of time.
A moral child becomes a stable adult — a person who can lead with character, serve with compassion, and live with purpose. But morality doesn’t happen by accident. It must be taught, modeled, reinforced, and celebrated. The home is the first school, and the parents are the first teachers. If children do not see integrity in us, they will struggle to live by it themselves.
The Challenges of Today’s World
Today, we raise children with gadgets not with guidance. We dress them in lace but forget to lace their hearts with values. Many parents have become sponsors not mentors. We host parties but we don’t host conversations with our children. And then we wonder why respect, discipline and integrity are vanishing in our homes. Culture without character is just a decoration. We are raising children in a world where right and wrong are often blurred, where social media influencers compete with parents for the minds of the young, and where peer pressure is sometimes stronger than family influence. In this climate, our role becomes even more urgent.
It’s no longer enough to tell children what is right; we must show them why it is right and how to stand for it. We must equip them with critical thinking, spiritual grounding, and emotional intelligence so they can make wise decisions in difficult moments.
Our Collective Responsibility
Raising morally sound children is not only the responsibility of parents but of society at large — teachers, religious leaders, mentors, and neighbors. If we collectively invest in the moral development of our children, we invest in a future of peace, progress, and purpose.
Inspiration for Today and Tomorrow
Let us remind our children daily that they are not accidents of history but intentional gifts with the power to shape the world. Let us affirm their value, correct them with love, and guide them with consistency. Let us also pray for them, because while we can plant and water, only God can give the increase.
As we navigate the power of life and the challenge of instilling morality in our children, may we never forget: A single candle can light a thousand others — and the values we burn into the hearts of our children will continue to glow long after we are gone. We must return to homes that teach not just feed a child that is raised without morals and become a storm in the society tomorrow. As parents, we should not raise regrets but good legacies for the future of our children.
