As schools shut their gates for the long vacation, experts say the weeks ahead could either shape children’s character and future—or expose them to risks that leave lasting consequences.
By Gloria Itodo
ABUJA, Nigeria — August 2, 2026
The annual long holiday has once again arrived, bringing excitement to millions of schoolchildren across Nigeria. For many, it is a welcome break from classrooms, homework, uniforms and examinations. For countless parents, however, the extended vacation introduces a different reality: balancing the demands of work and business while ensuring their children remain safe, engaged and properly guided.
As economic pressures continue to compel parents to spend long hours outside their homes, childcare has become an unavoidable necessity for many families. Yet child development specialists, educators and family advocates continue to stress a critical distinction that is often overlooked—while childcare can be delegated, parenting cannot.
The holiday season, they argue, is not simply a break from academic activities but a defining period that tests the values, priorities and commitment of parents to raising responsible, emotionally healthy and morally grounded children.
Parenting Beyond Financial Provision
For many Nigerian parents, fulfilling parental responsibility is often measured by the ability to provide school fees, food, clothing, shelter and healthcare.
These remain essential obligations.
However, experts say successful parenting extends far beyond material provision.
Children require emotional security, guidance, discipline, communication, affection and consistent moral direction—qualities that cannot be purchased or outsourced.
While schools educate children academically and caregivers provide supervision, parents remain the primary architects of their children’s values, identity and behaviour.
Children learn not only from instructions but from observation. They absorb attitudes, habits, priorities and character from the adults they interact with most closely.
The Long Holiday: More Than a School Break
During the academic session, schools provide structure.
Children wake up at fixed times, interact with teachers, complete assignments and participate in organised activities that encourage discipline and routine.
Once schools close, that structure disappears.
Without careful planning, children can easily spend weeks consumed by excessive television viewing, uncontrolled smartphone use, endless social media scrolling, online gaming or unhealthy peer influences.
Rather than becoming a season of growth, the holiday may gradually become a period of wasted opportunities.
Family development experts describe the long vacation as one of the most important periods in a child’s annual development because it offers parents the rare opportunity to intentionally shape attitudes, habits and life skills outside the classroom.
A Digital Generation Facing New Risks
Modern parenting has become increasingly complex.
Unlike previous generations, today’s children face both physical and digital dangers.
With smartphones, gaming platforms and unrestricted internet access, harmful content and inappropriate influences can reach children within seconds.
Cyberbullying, online predators, misinformation, violent content and social media addiction have become growing concerns for parents worldwide.
Offline, children also face risks associated with unsafe neighbourhoods, exploitation, substance abuse and negative peer pressure.
These realities have shifted one of the most important parenting questions.
Instead of simply asking whether children are indoors, parents must now ask:
Who—or what—is shaping my child’s mind today?
Two Families, Two Different Outcomes
Consider two hypothetical households.
In the first family, both parents leave home early each morning. The children remain with a domestic worker while television programmes and smartphones occupy most of their day.
There are few conversations.
No one asks what they watched online.
No one discusses friendships, personal struggles or lessons learned.
Although the children remain physically safe, little intentional learning takes place.
Now imagine another family.
The parents are equally busy professionals.
Before leaving for work, they discuss the day’s activities with their children, assign reading tasks, household responsibilities and recreational time.
A trusted caregiver supervises the routine.
Screen time is monitored.
Every evening, the family shares meals, discusses the day’s experiences and spends time reading, praying or reflecting together according to their beliefs.
Both families face similar economic realities.
The difference is not employment.
The difference is intentional parenting.
Choosing Caregivers Requires Careful Judgment
Many parents have no alternative but to rely on nannies, relatives, neighbours or daycare providers during working hours.
Seeking help is neither unusual nor irresponsible.
However, experts advise parents to carefully evaluate anyone entrusted with a child’s care.
Important considerations include:
- Whether the caregiver reflects the family’s values.
- How they communicate with children.
- Whether they supervise activities or merely occupy children.
- What television programmes, websites and social media platforms children are exposed to.
- Their ability to provide emotional support as well as physical safety.
Delegating supervision is practical.
Delegating parental responsibility is not.
How Working Parents Can Stay Fully Engaged
Busy work schedules need not become barriers to effective parenting.
Child development professionals recommend several practical approaches:
- Begin each day with meaningful family conversations.
- Develop structured holiday schedules.
- Monitor children’s whereabouts and friendships.
- Supervise internet use and digital activities.
- Review mobile applications, games and websites regularly.
- Share at least one family meal daily whenever possible.
- Encourage reading for at least twenty minutes each day.
- Teach practical life skills every week.
- Spend individual quality time with each child.
- Protect weekends as family bonding opportunities.
According to family counsellors, children often remember consistent attention more vividly than expensive gifts.
Stay-at-Home Parents Have a Unique Opportunity
Parents who remain at home during the holiday possess an invaluable advantage.
Rather than allowing children to spend entire days watching television or browsing social media, they can transform everyday household activities into practical life lessons.
Children can learn:
- Cooking and nutrition.
- Laundry and personal hygiene.
- Gardening.
- Household budgeting.
- Time management.
- Reading culture.
- Respect and empathy.
- Responsibility and accountability.
- Healthy communication skills.
These experiences often build confidence, independence and resilience that classrooms alone cannot provide.
Business Owners Can Turn Workplaces into Classrooms
Entrepreneurs and business owners frequently struggle to balance commercial responsibilities with family life.
Where appropriate, older children can accompany parents to safe workplaces to observe real-life business operations.
Such exposure provides opportunities to teach:
- Integrity in business.
- Customer relations.
- Financial responsibility.
- Entrepreneurship.
- Work ethics.
- Problem-solving.
For many children, these experiences become early foundations for future leadership and enterprise.
Keeping Children Productively Occupied
Experts recommend that parents encourage children to participate in enriching activities throughout the holiday.
These may include:
- Reading books.
- Coding and digital literacy.
- Swimming.
- Chess.
- Public speaking.
- Music lessons.
- Arts and crafts.
- Sewing and fashion design.
- Cooking.
- Community service.
- Indigenous language learning.
- Educational excursions.
- Well-supervised faith-based or community youth programmes.
The objective is not to eliminate recreation but to combine learning, creativity, rest and play in healthy proportions.
The Greatest Investment Parents Can Make
Years from now, children may forget many of the toys, gadgets or expensive outings they enjoyed.
What often remains unforgettable are the emotional experiences created within the family.
Children remember whether they felt protected.
They remember who listened when they struggled.
They remember encouragement during difficult moments.
They remember whether home was a place of love, discipline, security and acceptance.
These memories become the foundation upon which future relationships, confidence and personal values are built.
The long holiday should not be viewed merely as an interruption to academic calendars.
It is a rare opportunity for families to strengthen relationships, nurture character and prepare children for adulthood.
Schools play an indispensable role in educating young minds, but the lifelong responsibility of shaping character belongs primarily to parents.
While economic realities may require parents to entrust children to caregivers during working hours, experts insist that parenting itself remains non-transferable.
As families navigate the weeks ahead, the central message is clear: childcare may be delegated, but parenting must remain personal, intentional and consistent.
The investment parents make today—in time, attention and values—will continue to influence their children’s lives long after the holiday comes to an end.
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