DALM | Why is Lagos so dirty?

Diary Adventures of LagosMums: DALM | Why is Lagos so dirty? 

So the other day I was in the car with the kids as we were on the way to the dentist when the older one asked me why Lagos is so dirty? She mentioned a few other places in her opinion that were not dirty and asked again so why is Lagos so dirty? I asked her why she thought so and she pointed various streets as we passed by and also pointed to several unpainted walls and repeated that yes, Lagos is very dirty.

She went on to say that she guesses she should not care and that is just the way it is, Lagos is dirty. Her younger one answered that he would like to change the face of Lagos and he will be in charge of making sure that Lagos is painted everywhere!

Many times I love the simplicity of parenting moments and the unpredictability of teachable moments. This was quite a parenting moment as I was faced with a question and also conclusions they were making. Here I had one child wanting to resort to the dirtiness of Lagos as just the way it is and deciding it best not to care and the other more optimistic one claiming to make a change and beautify Lagos.

I didn’t know how to answer because I really did and do not know the answer. Why is Lagos so dirty really? How do you make sure that your children do not get used to things in bad condition, how do we continue to ensure that we raise the standards of our children and not say it is okay for a place to be dirty and filthy? 

It is indeed a bigger question for everyone, our children here are continuously exposed to things that do not work, dirty places, unkempt buildings and the general picture of non-maintenance that if unchecked can encourage them to grow up to imbibe a non-caring attitude to their environment.

We must ensure and encourage our children to fall into the half who will not shrug or lower their standards but instead strive to make a change. Indeed if children are exposed to a certain thing they are likely to accept that as normal. We don’t want to raise children who think dirt and not caring for their environment is normal and the status quo.

So to ensure mine do not pick up the attitude that dirty and unkempt surroundings is the way to live I will ensure that

1)   They always pickup after themselves

2)   They do not throw trash outside the window or onto the floor and only use trash bins

3)   Show them pictures and visit places that are clean and well kept

4)   Talk about cleanliness and the benefits

5)   Keep our environments home and street clean, ensure that the gutters by my house are cleaned

6)   Volunteer to paint and beautify a shelter or a home for abandoned children

7)   Make sure that they have chores that make them care for their surroundings

8)   Train all domestic staff to have high standards of cleanliness

While our environment might not be as clean as we would like, we can ensure as parents and care gives that the children under our care do no accept that dirtiness and low standards is acceptable.

photo source: nairaland