A school and marriage counsellor, Mrs Funmi Adegboye, says it is injurious for parents to impose their decisions or choices of career on their children, as this would affect their developmental stages.

Grief-stricken parents of the trapped pupils.

Adegboye spoke on Saturday at the 2019 World Book /Copyright and Career Talk Day, organised by Imperial Lights College (ILC), Gowon Estate, Lagos.

“A child is an individual created by God with some embedded gifts and potential for his or her interest, aptitude and talent.

“If a child is not allowed to express the embedded interest, he or she will be confused, unhappy and frustrated.

“This is the reason why we have a lot of children dropping out of school because of the fighting spirit telling them you can’t continue, and they just break down,” she said.

Adegboye said children who manage to allow the will of their parents prevail because they are the ones paying the bills would not always perform optimally.

“At the end, they are not happy with the career, and later in life when they are empowered, you see them diving into what they really want and desire to do,” she said.

Adegboye said that careers such as comedy, cosmetology, artists, among others which older generation parents stopped their children from doing, are the ones trending and more rewarding now.

On her part, Mrs Omobola Akingbehin, Senior Editor, Newsmen, Lagos, advised parents to oversee their children’s class work to know where they are failing.

Akingbehin, who was the keynote speaker at the event, said it was unworthy for parents to celebrate the world book day when they do not read or encourage their children to do same.

She urged parents to motivate their children in writing composition, as this would develop their mental ability and also discourage them from indulging in the use of the phone, especially when doing assignments.

“If you must secure their tomorrow, you must invest your time, money and energy in their lives, and you must not be too harsh but discipline to enable you to shape their future.

“Teach your child to be original and be proud of their work, it is what you deposit in them that they exhibit,” she said.

Mrs Olayemi Ashaolu, Managing Director, ILC said the event was organised toward reviving the culture of reading, which was already going into extinction.

Ashaolu counselled parents to read and also encourage their children to do the same, adding that readers are tomorrow’s leaders.

Mr Olajide Aliu, Principal, ILC, said while the International World Book Day is celebrated on April 23, some schools, especially those adopting the British curriculum, do theirs in March, as the British and some European counties celebrate the event in March.

The event organised by ILC featured book reading, reviews by students and parents, career talk, display and music rendition, among others.

Newsmen report that in 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day be celebrated on April 23.

The date is symbolic for world literature being the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.

It is also the date of birth or death of several other prominent authors.(NAN)