On Friday, July 18, 2025, Lagos State Deputy Governor Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat raised concerns over the growing culture of overindulgence in the way children are being raised in many homes today.
Speaking candidly, Hamzat described a pattern of parenting that, while well-meaning, could be setting children up for long-term struggle. Drawing from personal observations and his experience interacting with teachers, he said that many children no longer carry out basic tasks, rely heavily on domestic staff for everything, and are gradually becoming detached from a sense of responsibility.
According to him, its now common to see children as young as eight who dont lay their beds or older ones who simply eat their meals and walk away without clearing the table. Many, he said, no longer wash their clothes, even with machines in the house, because these tasks are assigned to the maid or, in his words, the caring mum.
Hamzat described how young children now expect their drivers to carry their schoolbags, refer to domestic staff with a sense of entitlement, and wake up heading straight to the TV. Yet when its time to read, parents are quick to send them to bed early, believing academics should be limited to school hours.
He also pointed to an inconsistency in what children are taught versus what they observe. Parents play games for hours on their phones but wonder why their children arent studying, he said. In homes where parents invest in expensive schools but do not actively support a disciplined lifestyle at home, the outcomes often fall short of expectations.
He spoke critically about the rise in academic dishonesty, noting that some parents go as far as bribing teachers or registering their children in miracle centres for external exams. This, he warned, only reinforces shortcuts and undermines integrity.
Hamzat challenged the idea that wealth can secure a childs future in the absence of character. Whether its a job given through connections or a family business handed over, he said that a poor attitudebeing rude, undisciplined or unaccountablewill eventually lead to failure.
He argued that the problem wasnt just about children being pampered, but about parents shielding them from the kind of daily discipline that builds character. To him, household chores are not just duties, but opportunities to teach self-reliance, time management, and perseverance.
Quoting an old saying, he reminded parents that there are two kinds of pain in life: the pain of discipline and the pain of regretand everyone will experience one. When you prevent your child from feeling the pain of discipline today, you are preparing them for the pain of regret tomorrow, he said.
Hamzat encouraged parents to rethink how they balance care with structure, and affection with accountability. Train your child in the way he should go, he concluded, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
