NEVER EXCLUDE THEM FROM DECISION-MAKING ‘ Femi Adekunle on Parenting One of the big mistakes parents make is to think that the children are too immature to understand the running of the family, hence when decisions are made, they are relegated to irrelevance and excluded. Years back I was to consult with a nutritionist/dietician who…
YOU WILL NEVER BE THEIR ONLY ‘PARENT’ ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Growing up in those days, we were weaned to respect, value, and appreciate the extended family system, which is one of the strengths of our African cultural setting. We grew up being close to our cousins, aunties, uncles, and grandparents. I recollect that many…
TREAT THEM FAIRLY BUT NOT EQUALLY ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Sounds strange, doesn’t it? A wise man once said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequal. Having to raise more than 2 children has strongly reinforced my belief in this saying even much more. On a daily basis, I…
NEVER GET TIRED OF GIVING INSTRUCTIONS When we were young, I remember my parents always screaming in my dialect alaigboran! Meaning that we were quite stubborn and disobedient. Now, as a parent, I can’t count how many times I have screamed the same frustration on my children! Imagine having to remind your grown-up children to…
THEIR NATURE DETERMINES HOW YOU NURTURE THEM Having many children has really opened my eyes to the depth of individual child uniqueness, more so when you have twins. For the twins, I discovered that different things excite, motivate, challenge, and upset them. While one of them thrives in an atmosphere of competition, i.e., motivated by…
DON’T JUST PREPARE, DEVELOP ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting When we talk about parenting, we always hear people say “prepare for parenting”. This is very correct. However, I have discovered that preparation is not enough, we must develop. To be up to date with your child, you must update. The place of preparation has been emphasized,…
PARENTING IS NOT A COMPETITION ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting It was the annual inter-house sports competition in my children’s school. The weather was clement with expectations running high from the organisers, the competitors, cheering spectators and of course, parents. One of the events – the popular 100 meters sprint – was about to take off,…
NASTY BUT NOT RUDE Someone said there are two times when you feel like running away from home: when you are fifteen and when your daughter is fifteen. Even if I didn’t believe this when I first heard it, I did when my children became teenagers. What is it that makes teenagers so special and…
THE AMUSING PART OF CHILDREN ‘Femi Adekunle Often, children are comic reliefs. As parents, we should see the fun in things and not be uptight as we are wont to, many times, especially when it comes to our children’s performance in any sphere or endeavour. We expect so much from them that failure to meet…
Airport Wahala: video.When are we going to be organised? The new Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Departure Hall looks very beautiful, and without mincing words, a lot has been spent by the Nigerian Government to achieve this. Visiting the new departure hall for the first time, you will definitely lose your way. Losing your way becomes…
