**DON’T ASSUME KIDS SHOULD KNOW!**

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If you have ever seen the movie “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” you might recall the story from which I am drawing the lesson in this post. Why is it important? From it I learnt an important lesson which I want to share with parents, teachers, primary and secondary caregivers for children, and anyone who spend time with children.



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In the story, Alex (A young lion) has just returned to the reserve accidentally where his family was, and is re-united with his family and the pride.
A mischievous member of the pride (Makunga) came to Zuba (Alex father) who happens to be the king, to remind him of the rite of passage ceremony to which everyone has to go through to be a member of the pride, or else such an individual should be banished. Alex too has to be subjected to this ritual.
This got Alex excited and Zuba and his wife assumed that Alex knew what the ceremony entails and how he should go about in the selection of his opponent.



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While Alex parents were busy doing nothing really worthwhile in providing guidance for their young and naïve son, Makunga seized this opportunity to mislead him into selecting Titi (one of the strongest lions in the pride) as his opponent.
The end of the challenge was catastrophic. Young Alex was knocked out and eventually banished by Makunga who also seize the opportunity to claim Zuba’s throne.

This happening and apparent failure of Alex could have been averted if his parents had provided him with clear instruction and guidance with respect to the rite of passage ceremony.

VALUABLE LESSON LEARNT

Moat often, parents, teachers and caregivers fail in their responsibilities to be there for kids. We often base some of our decisions on assumption that they are supposed to know. We also fail to come down to their level, rather wanting them to think at our level. No child came to this world with any previous knowledge and we seem to ignore that fact. What you know today is as a result of your past experiences and what you were taught.
The result of not providing clear instruction for children leaves them in a confused state. They then either resort to a trial and error approach or seek information and guidance from their peers who doesn’t even know better.

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They become vulnerable to manipulations and are often taken advantage of.
The place of clear information and instruction to a child cannot be over-emphasized. They need to be aware of what is expected of them and how to handle certain situations. They need information about their sexuality, how to protect themselves, and what changes their body is going through per time. They need teachers to be clear on classroom rules and expectations, objectives of the lesson and the reason for school in the first place.
The right of child can easily be trampled upon when the child is not even aware of his right and privileges. They need us to guide them and that is why they always imitate what they see.

I admonish you dear ready to take these things into cognizance.

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