A Socio-Theological Assessment of the Challenges of Parenting in Heterogeneous Slums in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined how the socio-economic realities of slum life affect parenting practices, child behavior, and moral formation. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional design, the study gathered data through key informant interviews with ten participants, including eight parents and two adolescents drawn from the heterogeneous slum community of Jabi, Daki Biu in Abuja. The work is anchored on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, which helps explain how a child’s development is shaped by interacting environments such as the home, school, neighborhood, culture, and broader social structures. The article argues that parenting in slum settings is not merely a private family matter but a complex social, religious, and developmental issue influenced by structural hardship. It identified several interrelated challenges confronting parenting in slum communities. These include exposure to violence and insecurity, poor access to education, emotional stress and trauma, weak family and social support, and peer pressure that encourages risky behavior. The findings suggest that children’s behavioral problems are cumulative rather than isolated, arising from repeated and interconnected environmental pressures rather than a single event. In particular, poverty, overcrowding, poor schooling, neighborhood violence, and weak supervision combine over time to weaken parenting capacity and increase the likelihood of emotional and behavioral difficulties among children. The article therefore presents child behavior in slum settings as a response to structural disadvantage rather than merely personal misbehavior. A major contribution of the work is its socio-theological framing of parenting. The P-ISSN 2695-219X article integrates Christian biblical principles, Islamic parenting ideals, and African Indigenous child-rearing values to propose that effective parenting must combine discipline, moral instruction, love, prayer, example, and community support. This interdisciplinary approach strengthens the argument that religion and culture can serve as stabilizing forces in child development, especially where social conditions are harsh. The Christian section emphasizes parenting as discipleship, while the Islamic reflection highlights mercy, responsibility, and age- appropriate guidance. The African Indigenous perspective reinforces the communal nature of child upbringing and the role of extended kinship in moral training. Together, these frameworks present parenting as a shared responsibility rooted in values formation.

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