PARENTING BY HOVERING: THE NEW NORMAL? ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Recently, I was in a private university in the city to check in the son of a family friend who had just gained admission. Right from when he was in primary school, I adored him so much I was happy to be part of his…
NEVER THERE BEEN A SUPER PARENT; YOU WON’T EVER BE ONE ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting I have read and heard a lot of things about being a super parent – super mum, super dad, super wife, etc. I have struggled to understand the concept and in fact accept the fact that it is not a…
PARENTING IS ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Let me relay this story that my friend told me. When he finished primary school, he passed his entrance examination into the then prestigious Unity Schools in Nigeria. He was offered admission into one of the schools in the old Cross River State. My friend’s family…
STREET-SMARTNESS IS A MUST TRAINING When my daughter was thirteen and in boarding school, we went to pick her from school one day as they vacated. As we drove out of the school premises on the way home, I kept thinking about the privileges our children have and which we never had, wondering if they…
ENJOY THEM IN SPITE OF THEM ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Have you become exasperated while screaming, yelling and agitated? You are not alone, many parents have. From keeping their toys in place, to washing the dishes, to doing their laundry, parents have a hard time endlessly dispensing instructions which sometimes, you have to repeat often…
DON’T SPEND TIME, SPEND PRIME TIME ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting For my twins, I discovered something that I regret not starting as early enough as when they were toddlers. Since the day they were born, we have always treated them as twins. We bought a pair of everything: clothing, shoes, toys, etc., and understandably so…
STAY OUT OF THEIR PROBLEMS ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting Stay out of their problems – when I was growing up, my parents had this understanding. They allowed us to suffer the consequences of our actions. And if we were stupid, we bore the brunt of our stupidity. My parents would not shout themselves hoarse at…
Parenting: DON’T JUST PREPARE, DEVELOP* ‘ Femi Adekunle on Parenting To be up-to-date with your child, you must update. The place of preparation in parenting can not be overemphasised. However, development is superior to preparation. In other words, development is the superlative version of preparation. When all you do is prepare but fail to further…
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…
