Sue's Imaginarium

  As children grow, one of the most important life skills they must learn is how to recognise bad influence. Every child will eventually meet people who encourage unhealthy behaviour, poor choices, disrespect, dishonesty, bullying, or dangerous actions. This can happen at school, online, in friendships, or even within familiar environments. Many parents naturally want to protect their children from every negative influence, but the truth is that children will not always remain under direct supervision. One day, they will have to make decisions on their own. This is why teaching discernment early is extremely important. Children need to understand not only what bad influence looks like, but also how to confidently walk away from it without feeling ashamed, pressured, or afraid. What Is Bad Influence? A simple way to explain bad influence to children is this: “Bad influence is when someone encourages you to do things that hurt you, hurt others, make you uncomfortable, or move you aw...

 Stories have always been an important part of childhood. Long before television, mobile phones, and the internet existed, people gathered together to listen to stories. In many African homes and communities, elders would sit with children in the evenings and share folktales, proverbs, and wisdom-filled stories under the moonlight. These stories were not told only for entertainment. They were used to teach children how to behave, how to treat others, how to think wisely, and how to face life’s challenges. Even today, stories still matter deeply in raising children. Children may forget long lectures, but they rarely forget stories that touch their emotions. A story has the power to enter a child’s imagination and stay there for many years. Through stories, children begin to understand kindness, honesty, patience, courage, responsibility, and empathy in ways they can relate to. Instead of simply telling a child, “Do not be greedy,” a story about a greedy tortoise who loses everythi...