Children Grow by Nature But Are Raised by Nurture: Parental Instruction in Proverbs 22:4–6 for Raising Children in Nigeria

Abstract

This article uses the interpretation of Proverbs 22:4–6 as a lens through which to view traditional Nigerian attitudes about children and early childhood education. Proverbs 22:4–6 insists that children grow by nature but nurturing the child is the job of the parents. The pericope further insists that parents should train up their children by their words and the type of life they live. The aphorisms in the biblical text’s structure are important in analysing the deteriorating state of children’s upbringing in Nigeria. Contextualising the pericope reveals that Nigerian parents are no longer providing moral and spiritual values to their children. Parents have also left most if not all of the responsibility of training up children in the hands of teachers. This study argues that the challenges that Nigerian society is experiencing could be solved if parents start the process of taking up the responsibility of nurturing their children rather than leaving it in the hands of the children’s teachers and peers.