Influence of Cultural value System and Home on Child-Rearing Practices in the Contemporary Nigerian Society

doi:10.4236/ojpp.2013.31A033

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Open Journal of Philosophy

2013. Vol.3, No.1A, 200-206

Published Online February 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojpp) DOI:10.4236/ojpp.2013.31A033

200

Influence of Cultural Value System and Home on Child-Rearing

Practices in the Contemporary Nigerian Society

Mary Basil Nwoke

Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Email: [email protected]

Received August 24

, 2012; revised September 27

, 2012; accepted October 10

, 2012

The study investigated influence of cultural values and home on child-rearing practices in Nigeria. Value

systems are embedded in the culture of people. Culture is a set of shared values, attributes, customs and

physical objects that are maintained by people in a specific setting. Cross-sectional design and qualitative

technique was employed to obtain information from participants. Participants were sixteen adults (8 men,

8 women) from four ethnic groups: Igbo, Ogoni, Tiv and Yala. Findings showed that different cultures

have their value systems and these values were inculcated to generations of the members through child-

rearing practices. At the age of 5 years, each culture initiates the young ones into her way of life, such as

the behavioural pattern expected of the child at the home or farm. Yala Queen dancing/greeting pattern,

Ogonis and her yaa/koo rites of passage into adulthood; Tivs and the sacredness of her land; Igbos and

their importance of kolanut. These values are transmitted to generations of human beings through child-

rearing practices. The home is the miniature society which nurtures value system.

Keywords: Child-Rearing; Culture; Value System; Society

Introduction

Etymologically, value system and societal norms are em-

bedded in the culture of the people. Culture is a set of shared

values, attributes, customs and physical objects that are main-

tained by people in a specific setting as part of a design for

living one’s daily life as well as assumptions and everything

from clothing, dwellings, technologies and works of art that a

group of people have developed over the years, as a design for

trying to structure their life together. These values and norms

are transmitted to generations of human beings through child-

rearing practices in the homes. Every home is a miniature soci-

ety, contains all the societal value systems and serves as nurs-

ery that nurtures all cultural values (Berger & Thompson, 1998).

Looking closely at various designs for living, it becomes clear

that cultural value system and norm guide human development

in a multitude of interrelated ways. For instance, Levine (1980,

1989) observed that children are an economic asset because

they can contribute to the family’s farming and later form a

strong family unit to preserve the land and to care for ageing

parents. Thus every infant who survived to childhood and be-

yond benefits the entire family. Levine noted that in most of

those communities, there was poor nutrition and poor medical

care, leading to high infant mortality rates. The priority atten-

tion of child rearing was designed to maximize survival of the

infants and therefore emphasized family cooperation. The typi-

cal home features include: intensive physical care of infants,

feeding on demand, immediate response to crying, close body

contact, keeping the child close at night, and constant care by

siblings and other relatives as well as by the mother. All these

measures are values to protect the fragile human infant from an

early death and work to establish such values as the interde-

pendence of family members.

By contrast, Levine (1989) observed that, American middle-

class parents may not have much concern about infant mortality,

instead ensuring their children’s future success in technological

and urbanized society takes priority attention in their child-

rearing practices. They focus their child rearing efforts on fos-

tering cognitive growth and emotional independence. Hence

typical American middle-class parents engage their infants in

activities that provide cognitive and social stimulation, talk to

their infants more than touch them, put them to sleep them-

selves in their own cribs in their rooms, and often ignore their

crying so as not to spoil them. It is not surprising these con-

trasting parental strategies in child-rearing practices produce

children with quite different capacities, goals and expectations.

However, in both cases the children became relatively well-

prepared for the cultural value system in which they were raised.

Home value system and cultural norms involve the behaviour

patterns, beliefs and all other products of a particular group of

people which are passed on from generation to generation

(Phinney & Alipura, 1990). There are various ways in which

home values and cultural norms, which are embedded in the

culture could have influence on the personality of an individual

and modes of adjustment in life. Sechrest and Wallace (1967)

observed that culture and personality are two ways of looking at

the same phenomenon. Individual’s personality is the end

product of an interaction between biological and experiential

factors and experiential factors are in part culturally determined.

Sechrest and Wallace (1967) hold firm that the most evident

source of value system influence on personality is by way of

child-rearing orientations that are culturally conditioned. Hara-

lambos and Heald (1980) observed that “for all intents and

purposes a new human baby is helpless. Not only is it physi-

cally dependent on older members of the species, but it also

lacks the behaviour pattern necessary for living in human soci-

ety. It relies primarily on certain biological drives such as hun-

ger and the charity of its elders to satisfy those drives. In order

M. B. NWOKE

201

to survive, the human infant must learn the skills, knowledge

and accepted ways of behaving of the society into which it is

born” (p. 3). Kluckhohn (1951 as in Haralambos & Healed,

1980) posited that culture is a design for living held by mem-

bers of a particular society. In order for a society to operate

effectively, this design must be shared by its members. So in all,

cultural value systems are transmitted to generations of off-

spring through child-rearing practices in the homes.

Analyzing the cultural value system in Africa, Dukor (2010)

observed that every ethnic group has a set of social value sys-

tem in her cultural environment, such values as poetry, archi-

tecture, food and work habit, farming and fetching water and

many others; such are transmitted to generations of humans

through child-rearing practices in the homes. Dukor (2010)

indicated that when cultural values are enacted and assimilated,

they become a form of law or guide to the group (like Thomas

Paine right of man, the American declaration of independence

and the United Nation Charter on human rights). Dukor (2010)

categorized cultural values into moral normative values and non

moral normative values. He indicated that the moral normative

values consist in what he called ethical or axiological values,

while aesthetic and artistic values make up the non moral nor-

mative values in African philosophy. Dukor (2010) observed

that the issue of prepositions and entailments of African cul-

tural ethical values arise because these values are embedded in

African folklore, proverbs and wise-sayings on one hand and on

the other hand there are prepositions within the kinship-ex-

tended family ties and communalistic system. Dukor (2010)

attested that an ethical or moral normative cultural value can be

extracted prepositionally from a set of proverbs or folklore or

from the African communication philosophy, for example, in

Nigeria, no police is set to enforce moral values in Igbo society,

since the spirit of moral responsibility and communalism or

kinship takes care of deviances. For instance (Dukor, 2010)

cited the Igbo proverb that “when a man dances badly in public

it is his brothers (brethren) that get the itching brow” meaning

that unruly behaviour is a disgrace not only to oneself, but to

his entire family and community. He put his “Theistic Human-

ism model” into two groups A & B. In group “A” is the com-

munity values. In the community values are the kinship, ex-

tended family, communitarianism, social values and ethical

issues. In group “B” is the aesthetical values. In the aesthetical

values are the food & work habit, agriculture & architectural

values, music, artistic and celebration of life values. All these

philosophical ways of life, wise-sayings, folklore, belief system,

prescriptions and postscriptions and other invaluable salient

values in the family level, community level or society at large,

as enunciated by Dukor, is inculcated to generations of human

beings through child-rearing practices in the homes.

Nigeria with her diversified cultural background, value sys-

tems and with numerous ethnic groups, each ethnic group has

her peculiar way of child-rearing practices through which the

group’s value and norms are transmitted to generations of off-

spring. The home is the custodian of cultural value system. For

instance, the home initiates the child into her value system and

the cultural norms such as dressing pattern, greeting pattern,

eating ethics, cooking methods, language, dance, like acrobatic

displays, masquerade, morals, habits and gender character wise.

The males are trained on how to be dominant, defensive, and

strong among other masculine qualities. The girl child is trained

in feminine qualities of submissiveness, gentleness, quiet, hum-

ble, caring, which calls for mothering. The girl child is taught

domestic chores and how to take care of the home. The values

people adhere to often affect their cognition, their learning,

understanding, thinking, imagining, reasoning, and creative

processes. Chukwuaguh, (1998) observed that “the hidden as-

pects of a culture which comprises beliefs, ideals, values, as-

sumptions and modes of thought which members of a group

adhere to, govern not only the behaviour of the group, but also

their cognitive world view in a profound manner” (p. 70). For

example among the Igbo of Nigeria, the presentation and

breaking of kola nut is a value system that almost every Igbo

speaking group held prominent. In Igbo land, kola nut is not

shown to females whatever their age and the language of the

immediate locality where the kola was presented is always used

in praying while breaking it. This value system is transmitted to

generations of Igbo people through child-rearing, (Nwoke,

2004; Uzoka, 2010).

In another view, Sechrest and Wallace (1967) observed that

value system and heritage are deeply imbedded, that the cultur-

ally determined way of doing things and the look on life seems

natural and right in comparison with other peoples. They saw

that there are various ways in which cultural value system and

home might have impact on the personality of the individual

human being and his/her modes of adjustment. Every culture

provides both prescriptions and postscriptions for behaviours,

systems of reward and sanctions are very often specified and

they are inculcated to the offspring through rearing practices.

Thus certain forms of behaviours are prescribed and even re-

warded while other forms may be forbidden and punished.

Nwoke (2004) observed that in some part of Igbo land, the

eating of new yam is highly celebrated. The contravention of

this value system by any member of this group attracts heavy

sanction because such a person has defiled the cultural value

system no matter the influence of modernity or Christianity;

while in some other parts, new yam is eaten like any other food.

Yala in Ogoja of Cross-River State has similar value for their

new yam in the sense that every Yala son or daughter goes

home for the celebration. Of course, different cultures accord

yam products with varieties of celebration.

Review of Related Literature

Evaluating the impact of cultural values and norms on the

lives of humanity, Argyle (1970), Sechrest and Wallace (1967)

observed that culture provides its members with a cognitive

structure from within which they will review and try to make

sense out of, through their experiences. Through the value sys-

tem, cognitive and linguistic structures suitable to the problems

that must be dealt with by persons living in that culture are

provided and such values are transmitted to the young ones

through child-rearing in the homes. One of the most intriguing

and influential hypotheses concerning value system was ad-

vanced by Whorf (1956 as in Sechrest and Wallace, 1967) who

postulated that the nature and structure of the language deter-

mines cognitions which are possible in any culture; and are

transmitted to offspring through child-rearing methods in the

homes. For example in Igbo culture, the word “akwa” has many

meanings àkwà = bed; àkwá = egg; àkwa = bridge; àkwā =

clothes; àkwa = cry. However, the meaning “àkwa” conveys

depends on the pronunciation of the last article à; (or the se-

mantic). Among the Effiks of Nigeria, the word obong could

mean mosquito or chieftaincy depending on the pronunciation

and it is transmitted to generations of children. It was also re-

M. B. NWOKE

202

ported by Sechrest and Wallace (1967) that the Hununoo tribe

of the Philippines distinguished 92 varieties of values of what is

called “rice” in English. In such tribe, it may be possible for

homes (families) to inculcate the 92 varieties of values attached

to the word “rice” to their children through rearing practices.

In a study by Evans-Pritchard (1940), the Nuer tribe along

the upper Nile in Africa, are remarkable of the value attached to

cattle in almost every aspect of their lives. The Nuer use the

milk from cows, they routinely puncture blood veins in the

neck to drain blood which they use for food, they utilize cow

dung for fuel, “cement” and hair dressing. They eat the meat

and use the hides from slaughtered animals. Among the Nuer, a

man takes his name from his favourite oxen and spends a major

part of his time in providing for the welfare and safety of his

cattle. The Nuer-cow-value system is genuinely symbiotic.

They use a thousand and one terms to distinguish their cattle.

This is how thousand and one values held by cultures are

transmitted to generations of human beings through the home

socialization in the child-rearing processes. The children reared

in Nuer tribe may not know any other language than that of

human-cattle-relationship, because they will be initiated into

cattle rearing early in life; like the Fulani in Nigeria who initi-

ate their children to their street lifestyle of cattle rearing as

early as the age of five. This value of following cattle up and

down hills and streets which is transmitted to offspring through

child-rearing might make it quite impossible for most Fulani

children to understand any other value language than that of

cattle-rearing and following cattle. Hence Wegh (1994) ob-

served that no human child can socially or cognitively develop

beyond the type of life or value system prevalent in his/her

culture. Thus, whatever the value system, the home environ-

ment, social environment or cultural environment bequeaths the

growing child with, it is what he/she builds his/her own person-

ality on.

Herskovits (1955) observed that all over the world, and

across period of time, very diverse concepts of value system

have evolved. For instance, homicide, suicide, cannibalism,

homosexuality and incest have all apparently been regarded as

permissible and may even be desirable behaviours in some

societies while they are taboos in some other societies. For

example, in some part of America they are acceptable, in some

part of Africa, they are taboos. In a similar vein, Herskovits

(1955), Smith, Sarason & Sarason, (1986) Santrock (2006)

observe that hallucination which is regarded as a symptom of

serious mental disorder is sought rather than feared or avoided

by some tribes. For example the Plains Indians of North Amer-

ica often sought hallucinatory experiences as a form of divine

guidance or as a sign of initiation. These authors affirmed that

other symptoms such as delusion of being possessed by spirits

and experiencing of dissociative trance states, have not only

been accepted but in some cultures opened up opportunities for

their victims to serve as a shaman or priest. So while children

from Plains Indian of North America may be able to interpret

delusion and hallucinatory experiences as a “divine call’’, chil-

dren from some other cultures like Nigeria, may see such ex-

periences as possessed or sick. Indeed, it may be obvious that

such value system may be foreign or abnormal and could be

seen as the onset of pathological cases in some cultures like

Nigeria. This value system is inculcated to generations of off-

spring through child-rearing practices.

Talking about cultural value system, Nwideeduh (1998) dis-

closed that the Ogonis of Rivers State are culturally matrilineal

and this is inherited as well as inculcated. The Ogonis practice

cultural rite of passage or initiation into manhood or woman-

hood, which they called “yaa” for males and “koo” for females,

and this cultural value system is prominent that an Ogoni man

is ready to invest a treasure in the initiation ceremony of “yaa”

and “koo” of his children than to invest any penny on education

for the children. Nwideeduh (1998) emphasized that to change

an Ogoni man’s mind from “yaa” and “koo” initiation cultural

value system would mean turning the culture upside down or to

obliterate Ogoni culture from the universe. Culturally, every

group of people value their land, but, Downess (1933; Wegh

1994; Jov, 2001; Nwoke, 2004) indicated that the Tiv people do

not conceive their land simply as a tract of the earth on which

they live. It is the land of their fathers. It is “sacred” land. That

is why Tiv always fights against any encroachment made on

Tiv land. Tiv cultural value system is often portrayed in their

attire. Bohannan (1965) referring to the unique characteristics

of the Tiv, stated that the Tiv do not present the difficulty

prevalent among Africans in identifying the ethnic group.

Bohannan (1965) added: “the Tiv are of an independent turn of

mind and are almost surely the most ethnocentric people in the

world” (p. 516). This assertion is because the Tiv were strongly

hostile to any external force that would infiltrate their cultural

heritage. These values are inculcated to generations of Tiv

children through child-rearing practices.

On how great an influence of the home value system incul-

cated to the child through rearing practices; was expressed by

an anonymous writer (in Hurlock, 1978) in the following ways:

 If a child lives in criticism, he learns to condemn.

 If the child lives with hostility, he/she leans to fight.

 If the child lives with fear, he/she learns to be apprehensive.

 If the child lives with pity, he/she learns to feel sorry for

self and others.

 If the child lives with tolerance, he/she learns to be patient.

 If the child lives with jealousy, he/she learns to feel guilty.

 If the child lives with ridicule, he/she learns to be shy.



If the child lives with shame, he/she learns to be ashamed of

himself/herself

 If he/she lives with encouragement, he/she learns to be con-

fident.

 If he/she lives with praise, he/she learns to love.

 If he/she lives with acceptance, he/she learns to like him-

self/herself.

 If the child lives with approval, he/she leans to have a goal.

 If the child lives with recognition, he/she learns to value

justice.

 If the child lives with honesty, he/she learns to value truth.

 If the child lives with security, he/she learns to have faith in

himself/herself and others.

In line with the assertion in Hurlock (1978), value system is

an inextricable cultural or home value which the individual is

born into, and is innately fixated in the behavioural pattern of

such individual or group of individuals. The value system of

any group affects their lifestyle and such is inculcated to the

children. For example there some religious sects whose means

of livelihood is beggary, they inculcate this value by sending

their children to the streets early in life to beg for alms. Differ-

ent cultural and home value systems influences, have produced

a variety of patterns of values in the contemporary society.

Every culture initiates her young ones to their way of life and

occupation and the values attached to occupations are intro-

duced to the child at the crib. For instance, the Fulani teaches

M. B. NWOKE

203

their children the values of following the cattle about the

streets.

Naturally the home is the core base of every human being.

The home lays the foundation in the individual child’s life. The

home is the primary agent of socialization in which the child

had his/her first relationship. The family gives the basic knowl-

edge, as well as character, social virtues, values, norms, tradi-

tions, customs and mores. The innate psychological factors

built in the home act as reservoir from where the growing child

draws his/her strength. Every home has its own individuality

and peculiar ways life and these individual home variables,

value systems and differences grossly influence child rearing

practices.

The home value system is a very important item in child’s

life and personality building because home value system is a

reflection of the societal, cultural values and norms which the

developing child has to abide by. It takes precedence for the

efficient learning and proper personality development of the

child. A child is born in a home where he/she remains in the

constant company of his/her parents, siblings and members of

the extended family during the formative year of the infancy

periods. It is evident that it is the home which is in the strategic

position to inculcate the cultural habits in the children through

child-rearing practices, since they are in full control of them

during infancy. The home assures the child security, wanted

and loved, by providing the child with his/her legitimate needs

and rights.

The home provides conducive environment for balance men-

tal development and builds confidence into the children through

rearing practices. Orhungur (1990) observe that any meaningful

discussion of a child’s growth and development and the influ-

ences that shape these, cannot fail to recognize the importance

of the home. The importance of the home as the primary agent

of socialization has been acknowledged by most authorities of

education today. This is because, when school performance is

addressed, it does not involve the academic performance and

excellence only, but includes moral, social, spiritual, physical,

emotional, psychological, economic, political and all attitudinal

and behavioural patterns the child has acquired through child

rearing practices at home. The home is a reservoir of strength

from which children draw to meet their physical and emotional

needs, its warm and intimate contacts, contribute to their feel-

ing of security and belonging. The home has certain primary

functions which include; socializing the children and to help the

children lay proper foundations for developing their potentials

and realizing their aspirations. The home assists the children in

learning their different cultural values. Children are reared in a

way that reflects the personality of their parents, behavioural

patterns and value orientations of their culture. The home pro-

vides a conducive and healthy environment, rich in develop-

mental skillful experiences as part of cultural value system,

where the child is allowed to interact and participate. The home

encourages the child to extend the interaction to the outside

environment–the school. This may be the reason people from

different cultural backgrounds can positively interact with oth-

ers, (Nwoke, 1997).

However, Nweze (1996) observe that with more women tak-

ing to professional careers and paid employment outside the

home, the direct consequences are enormous in value of

child-rearing practices. In Nigeria as in other parts of the world,

situation have been created whereby mothers and fathers are

becoming absentee parents as they are being forced by the de-

mands of their jobs and professions to spend less time at home

with their children. It is observed that parental absenteeism is

giving rise to the growing wave of children’s maladaptive and

delinquent in many urban homes-families across the world.

Nweze, (1996, Igbo & Anugwom, 2011) observed that the con-

flict generated by the clash between modern and traditional

home values have given rise to home crises that lead to increase

in divorce and separation among urban couples. Nwoke (2007)

observed that the issues of divorce and separation have led to

single parenthood, step parenthood and step children hood syn-

dromes. These forms of home system tend to generate more

home conflicts and coalitions and affect the emotional and so-

cial well being of children. Modern home value systems seem

to contravene the observed traditional home value system.

Uzoka, (2010) observed that the contravention of value systems

creates unhealthy living in some families, division, strife and

rancor, even separation or divorce.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of

cultural value system and the home on child-rearing practices in

the contemporary Nigerian society. Also to examine whether

modernity has any influence on cultural value system and child-

rearing practices in the contemporary Nigerian society. It is

hoped that this study will shed light on how value systems are

inculcated to generations of offspring through child-rearing

practices in the home.

Method

The study was purely qualitative, involving direct observa-

tion, interview, dialogue, discussion and interaction with the

participants.

Participants: These were sixteen adult men and women (8

men, 8 women) from four ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo,

Ogoni, Tiv and the Yala. Age (56 - 74) years, with a mean age

of 65 years from each group freely participated in the study.

Instrument: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to

elicit responses from participants:

1) Cultural value systems are inculcated to generations of

offspring through child-rearing practices. Can you tell me how

you transmit cultural values to generations of your offspring?

2) Has the home any influence in transmitting cultural value

system in child-rearing practices?

3) Has modernity influenced cultural value system and home

on child-rearing practices in the contemporary Nigeria society?

Procedure: In the course of this study the researcher came in

contact with the participants, held interview and discussion

with the sixteen adults in groups of four (2 men, 2 women)

according to ethnic group, concerning their cultural value sys-

tems and how such are passed on to generations of the people.

Design/Statistic: Qualitative technique, using semi-struc-

tured forms of data collection, both interviewing and discussion

were employed. This study was purely descriptive.

Results

Results were based on the summarized responses from the

participants.

Research Question 1: Cultural value systems are incul-

cated to generations of offspring through child-rearing

practices. Can you tell me how you transmit your cultural

values to your offspring?

The participants’ responses were:

M. B. NWOKE

204

Nigeria is a country with multiple ethnic groups, cultural

backgrounds and diversified value systems. Each group has her

peculiar way of inculcating the values prevalent in her tribe to

generations of offspring. For example the breaking of kola nut

in Igboland, the Tiv and their excessive possession of land and

cultural attire, the Ogoni and their yaa and koo initiation rites

and Yala and her Queen-dancing and salt baking. These and

other numerous cultural values like cooking and eating pattern,

mode of farming and rearing of animals, greeting styles and

dress code, gender roles, sitting pattern, songs, are transmitted

to the members from these groups through child-rearing prac-

tices in the home.

Research Question 2: Has the home any influence in

transmitting cultural value in child-rearing practices?

The participants’ responses were:

The home is a type of nursery bed for nurturing cultural

value system. It is the most important agent of socialization,

promoting all forms of values, giving direction, informal edu-

cation; chains of good moral behaviours, habits of healthy per-

sonality development and later adjustment are rooted in the

home. Unquestionably the home lays the foundation of every

good human being who respects his/her cultural values through

child-rearing. The home is a miniature society and custodian of

all cultural values. The home provides the first human interac-

tion through child-rearing. Through child-rearing practice what

a boy or a girl should do or not do is inculcated to the child.

 Among the Igbos females do not climb palm tree or tap

palm wine, females do not fell iroko tree and kola nut is not

shown to females when in a gathering or in a function no

matter the age of the female.

 In Tivland females do not drive away millipede from the

house. It is the believe that women do not own the house

and therefore do not have the authority to do so.

 In Tiv land, females do not make mounds in the farm; they

only weed the farm and gather fruits.

 Among the Ogoni, females make pots of all types and males

build canoes. Ogoni attach much importance to yaa and koo

initiation rites for both genders.

 Among the Yala males wrestle and engage in acrobatic

displays while the females do queen-dancing and bake salt.

These cultural values are inculcated to generations of off-

spring through child-rearing practices in the home. The

home is the encyclopedia that explains cultural value sys-

tems through child-rearing.

Research Question 3: Has modernity influenced cultural

value system and home on childrearing practices in the

contemporary Nigerian society?

The participants’ responses were:

Modernity has affected child-rearing practices. All the re-

spondents cited example with the type of wears people put on

and all the mannerisms. In the contemporary time males plait

their hairs, put on earring and dress like females. Also females

go in trousers like males. The issue of female circumcision is

grossly affected as some cultures have dropped this value,

while some adherents hold it tight. Of course female circumci-

sion has become the hot debate of modern society. Work family

role, vividly conflict in the modern time on child-rearing value

system. Children are left under the care of a mother surrogate

type in the day-care from critical tender age and most of the

home values which the child should have internalized in the

home become strange or foreign to the child.

Discussion

Based on the findings of current this study, Nigeria as a mul-

ticultural nation with diversified cultural value systems has

different ways of transmitting their values to her generations of

offspring through child-rearing practices in the various ethnic

groups. Cultural value system of greeting, methods of cooking

different types of food, clothing, dancing, songs, folklore,

magic and all cultural properties for which a group is known

are inculcated to generations of the members of the group

through child-rearing practices. To understand the cognitive

and social development of children, this study revealed that it is

better to examine the social and the cultural processes shaping

children. The findings of the present study seem to support all

the literature reviewed which strongly attested that cultural

value systems are transmitted to generations of offspring

through child-rearing practices. The present study revealed that

the pattern of farming or pattern of rearing animals, are trans-

mitted during child-rearing at the age of five years. The find-

ings of present study support Nwoke, (2004) who discovered

that many tribes in Nigeria introduce their children to their

various occupations at the age of five years, even though the

child may not be able to do the work meant for the adult.

He/she is conditioned to the line of thought and behaviour of

his/her gender in that culture.

To understand the influence of the home, based on the gen-

eral findings of this present study, all the respondents affirmed

that the home serves as a nursery bed where cultural value sys-

tems are nurtured, incubated and disseminated. According to

the present findings, the home is the primary agent of socializa-

tion that promotes all forms of values that give the developing

human being a sense of guide and direction. The present study

revealed that the home lays the foundation on which every good

or bad pattern of behaviour is built. The findings of this current

study showed that whatever the lifestyle of the home, such is

inculcated to the child through rearing practices. The findings

of the present study also showed that the home is a miniature

society and custodian of all societal values, from where the

growing child draws his/her strength. The current findings

showed that the home is a type of moral mirror from where the

child views his/her attitudes and activities. The present findings

buttress Nwoke, (1997) who observed that factors in the home

or direct teaching by parents through child rearing have great

influence on the child. The findings of this study revealed that

through child-rearing practices, each ethnic group transmits to

the boy or girl child what he/she should do or not do, as well as

culturally defined sitting patterns for males and females.

Among the Igbos, the present study revealed that the females

do not climb palm tree or tap palm wine, females do not fell

iroko tree. Also it was discovered in this study that kola nut is

not shown to females when in a gathering or in a function no

matter the age. The current findings revealed that if kola nut

was to be given to a female because of her social status, she

does not pick the kola nut from the dish by herself, it is picked

by a male who then gives it to her. The present findings indi-

cated that females carry out domestic chores and prepare the

type of food for which the culture is known. The present find-

ings also showed that in Igbo culture females sit with legs

closed. From the findings it is disclosed that males climb all

types of trees, tap palm wine, fell trees, rear animals and do

other male related duties in the home. These cultural values are

inculcated to generations of Igbo human beings through child-

M. B. NWOKE

205

rearing practices.

About the Tiv people, the findings of this study showed that

in Tivland, females do not drive away millipede from the house

because it is believed that the female is not the owner of the

house. The findings of this present study indicated that in the

farm females do not make mounds, they only weed the farm

and gather fruits. The current findings disclosed that Tiv fe-

males take care of the children, keep the house and prepare all

types of Tiv food. This study revealed that the Tiv people have

common unique attire which differentiates them from other

ethnic group in Nigeria. The current finding also disclose that

Tiv farm land is termed “sacred” and any form of encroach-

ments attracts war, and that is the reason Tiv always fights

against land dispute with neighbours. All these cultural values

are transmitted to generations of Tiv children through child-

rearing practices in the home.

Concerning the Ogoni, the present study revealed that fe-

males make pots and males build canoes. The findings of this

current study showed that the Ogoni people hold high their

“yaa” and “koo” initiation rites for both males and females. The

present finding supports Nwideeduh, (1998), who observe that

an Ogoni man is ready to spend a treasure in the “yaa” and

“koo” initiation of his children than to invest a kobo in their

education. These values and other salient ones are inculcated to

Ogoni generations through child-rearing practices in the home.

The findings of this present study showed that Yala males

wrestle and engage in acrobatic displays for entertainment,

while the females do the queen dancing with the intricate steps

of a queen. Also the women engage in salt baking while men

rear animals and farm. The values are transmitted to genera-

tions of Yala people through childrearing practices in the

home.

Understanding the influence of modernity on cultural value

system, all the respondents of this present study unanimously

attested that modernity has affected child-rearing practices. The

participants cited example with the type of wears people put on

in the contemporary Nigerian society and all the mannerism.

These findings affirmed that the issue of female circumcision is

another value that has been grossly affected as some cultures

have dropped this value, while some adherents hold it tight.

These findings showed that people’s lifestyles and paid job

employment have also affected child-rearing in the home, as

children at such critical period of development are deprived of

the parental nurturing they deserved. This finding buttresses,

Nweze, (1996; Nwoke, 2007; Aluko, 2009) who observed that

work family role conflict in the modern society has some nega-

tive influence on child-rearing value system. Children are left

under the care of people who may be foreign to their cultural

value systems, thereby strange values may be transmitted to the

children through interaction with the caregiver.

Conclusion

This study showed that cultural value system is embedded in

the culture of the people. The findings indicated that the home

serves as a nursery where the cultural value systems are nur-

tured and disseminated to generations of human beings through

child- rearing practices. The present study revealed that moder-

nity has influenced value systems and child-rearing practices in

the contemporary Nigerian society because of work family role

conflict. In addition the current study revealed that some cul-

tural values like female circumcision have become the hot seat

for modern debate as what is its value to humanity. However

culture is not static it is dynamic, therefore any conflicting issue

has to be reconciled with reason.

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