Reflect on what we teach our children and how we teach them – Dr. Jane to women

Dr. Jane-Frances Lobnibe, Dean of the School of Business and Lifelong Learning at the University for Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), has urged women to critically reflect on what they teach their children and the methods they use in raising them.

She made the call while addressing participants at the 44th annual National Ahmadiyya Women Conference held at the NJA College of Education celebrated on the theme “You Are the Best People Raised for the Good of Mankind.”

Dr. Lobnibe emphasised the crucial role of the home in shaping a child’s character, noting that children begin learning values long before they enter the classroom.

According to her, the mother’s influence is particularly significant because a child’s conscience and understanding of values often begin developing through early interactions with the mother.

She said mothers who teach their children values such as honesty, patience and love for Allah are contributing directly to the moral and spiritual development of their children.

“The first is the home. Long before a child sits in a classroom, they sit at their mother’s side, and it is there that a conscience takes its first shape,” she said.

Dr. Lobnibe further stressed that children learn not only from what their parents tell them but also from what they observe in their parents’ behaviour.

She noted that a mother’s personal example could have a lasting influence on a child’s character, sometimes reaching deeper than formal sermons or lessons.

She therefore encouraged the women to be intentional about both the values they pass on to their children and the approach they adopt in doing so.

“So my dear sisters, we will need to reflect on what we teach our children and how we do it,” she said.