Musing: Oh To Be A Child!
As I drove past them, I had the urge to stop and buy everything they had to sell. Every single item from every one of them. It was not my first time of seeing them, no. But the distinction was clearer as I was coming from a place where I witnessed another set, their circumstances clearly better than these.
Childhood is a precious time. A time when foundations are built, when values are developed and habits formed. Indeed, it is a very important time in the life of every human. For some reason I really cannot explain, I lost most of my childhood memories, but I remember one. My tenth birthday. I was in the primary school at the time.
A flurry of activities preceded the day. Items purchased, some cooking and baking was done. I got a flowery gown with purple ribbons and a black courtesan style pair of shoes. I remember vividly how I looked on that day. After all, I was turning the big one and zero. The day prior, my aunty was around to bake the cakes I was taking to school. There was a huge cake, two actually, because they were the one and zero shapes. She also made cupcakes which were for my teachers. After all the excitement, we went to bed. I woke up on the morning of my birthday to find that some of the cupcakes had decided not to be a part of my celebration. I could not explain what had happened, until my aunty picked up one of those that loyally remained on the cooling rack and announced that my baby brother had made the cakes disappear. I wondered how she knew. Then she pointed to the bite mark. You see, my brother has a gap between his upper two incisors. So, when he bit into the cupcake and abandoned it, he left his signature on it. I learnt a lesson from that experience. Sometimes, we think we have gotten away with an act, not realizing we left behind a trail, leading right to us.
What lessons are children learning these days? What is their life really about now? Trauma of seeing their fathers hitting their mothers? Or of discovering their mother’s lifeless bodies? Having to fend for their families when they’re barely out of diapers? Rejection? Insincerity and lies? Having to fight for attention from their parents, constantly fighting to be noticed over daddy and mummy’s jobs? Just the other day, I was listening to the statistics of hypertension in children. It was alarming, but hey, that’s the reality of the world our children live in today.
Sexual abuse is not limited to the girl child these days. Boys are getting sexually abused almost as often as girls. Are we paying attention? Are we shushing them and bribing them with cartoons? Where is the place of loving discipline these days? We’re raising children with almost zero discipline. They’re allowed to talk back and even beat their parents in protest. And we indulge them, saying they’re modern kids. Well, I’m a very African woman that believes in respect and proper discipline done in love. I love children a lot, but there are boundaries not to cross. They are our future, we can’t afford to just let them grow like wild plants.
Parents, can you relax some? Your kids will be all grown up before you know it. Let them be children, please. Stop dressing them like adults. They should wear age appropriate clothes. Their hair styles should not be a burden on them. And make up? Oh please, there’s plenty time for that. They should be able to look back on their childhood and savour the memories.
Today, we celebrate children the world over. Show some love to those kids around you. Particularly, to those children on the streets who do not even have an idea what today is all about. They’re out there hawking and doing odd jobs just to feed. Extend a hand to them, show them that life can be beautiful, even for them.
Let’s raise our collective voices against Female Genital Mutilation. I’m of the belief that whoever came up with that idea must have been evil. Let’s look out for our boys too and save them from sexual predators.
Happy Children’s Day to all the kids of the world. We await your manifestation.
Childhood is a precious time. A time when foundations are built, when values are developed and habits formed. Indeed, it is a very important time in the life of every human. For some reason I really cannot explain, I lost most of my childhood memories, but I remember one. My tenth birthday. I was in the primary school at the time.
A flurry of activities preceded the day. Items purchased, some cooking and baking was done. I got a flowery gown with purple ribbons and a black courtesan style pair of shoes. I remember vividly how I looked on that day. After all, I was turning the big one and zero. The day prior, my aunty was around to bake the cakes I was taking to school. There was a huge cake, two actually, because they were the one and zero shapes. She also made cupcakes which were for my teachers. After all the excitement, we went to bed. I woke up on the morning of my birthday to find that some of the cupcakes had decided not to be a part of my celebration. I could not explain what had happened, until my aunty picked up one of those that loyally remained on the cooling rack and announced that my baby brother had made the cakes disappear. I wondered how she knew. Then she pointed to the bite mark. You see, my brother has a gap between his upper two incisors. So, when he bit into the cupcake and abandoned it, he left his signature on it. I learnt a lesson from that experience. Sometimes, we think we have gotten away with an act, not realizing we left behind a trail, leading right to us.
What lessons are children learning these days? What is their life really about now? Trauma of seeing their fathers hitting their mothers? Or of discovering their mother’s lifeless bodies? Having to fend for their families when they’re barely out of diapers? Rejection? Insincerity and lies? Having to fight for attention from their parents, constantly fighting to be noticed over daddy and mummy’s jobs? Just the other day, I was listening to the statistics of hypertension in children. It was alarming, but hey, that’s the reality of the world our children live in today.
Sexual abuse is not limited to the girl child these days. Boys are getting sexually abused almost as often as girls. Are we paying attention? Are we shushing them and bribing them with cartoons? Where is the place of loving discipline these days? We’re raising children with almost zero discipline. They’re allowed to talk back and even beat their parents in protest. And we indulge them, saying they’re modern kids. Well, I’m a very African woman that believes in respect and proper discipline done in love. I love children a lot, but there are boundaries not to cross. They are our future, we can’t afford to just let them grow like wild plants.
Parents, can you relax some? Your kids will be all grown up before you know it. Let them be children, please. Stop dressing them like adults. They should wear age appropriate clothes. Their hair styles should not be a burden on them. And make up? Oh please, there’s plenty time for that. They should be able to look back on their childhood and savour the memories.
Today, we celebrate children the world over. Show some love to those kids around you. Particularly, to those children on the streets who do not even have an idea what today is all about. They’re out there hawking and doing odd jobs just to feed. Extend a hand to them, show them that life can be beautiful, even for them.
Let’s raise our collective voices against Female Genital Mutilation. I’m of the belief that whoever came up with that idea must have been evil. Let’s look out for our boys too and save them from sexual predators.
Happy Children’s Day to all the kids of the world. We await your manifestation.
Images: Google
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