DAMAGE CONTROL IS ALLOWED ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting My parents’ approach to parenting was authoritarian – my dad in particular. He was a rules dad. He was a quintessential schoolteacher, the type that went about cane-in-hand in those days. He was the type called ‘disciplinarian’. I recall that when we fell sick, and usually…
DON’T COMPARE CHILDREN ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting I once wrote on the need to avoid competitive parenting. Just as you are enjoined not to compare yourself with any other parent or get intimidated by their strengths while ignoring your own, never compare children. When my daughter gained admission into the university, we missed her sorely….
COMMENDATION IS AN ART, MASTER IT Femi Adekunle on Parenting Praise motivates, and inspires performance. We should not hold back on showering commendation when the children put up sterling performance. When we give compliments, commendation and appreciation, people want to re-enact the experience by repeating the performance. It is as much true of adults as…
WHAT THEY INGEST IS YOUR BUSINESS ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting I once saw the picture of a brand of cookies designed to appeal to children, and, so appealing they were. They were in different shapes and sizes, packaged in small plastic bags, and quite cheap. However, mixed with the assorted designs are images depicting sexuality…
THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS BIGGER THAN RAISING CHILDREN ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting I did make the point in my last article that your children are not more important than your spouse. Neither, I now say, are they more important than you. Let me explain. Sacrificial parents labour, toil and slave for their children. They…
COMPARE NOTES ‘ Femi Adekunle on Parenting In the daunting task of parenting, you need encouragement. You could get so overwhelmed and frustrated that you feel like giving up. One of the things that can keep you going is to touch base with fellow parents and compare notes. My wife and I once visited a…
PAY _CLOSE_ ATTENTION TO THEIR TALENTS AND GIFTS ‘ Femi Adekunle on Parenting This title sounds so simplistic, but it’s quite deeper than it sounds. I’ll use some illustrations to explain. It’s so easy for parents to jump into conclusions when they see their children manifest some ‘gifts’, or be misled into jumping into…
LET’S LESSEN THE PRESSURE BURDEN ON THEM ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting From toddlers to pre-schoolers to adolescents to adults, everyone is under different colorations of pressure. A renowned professor told the story of how his mum sacrificed so much to educate him. He gained admission into the university at a time when the financial fortune…
THEIR STRENGTH IS SUPERIOR TO THEIR FLAWS ‘ Femi Adekunle on Parenting When I was young, I was very poor in mathematics (I still am). I struggled endlessly with that subject. While in primary and secondary (high) schools, one of the most dreadful punishments I could face was to be given a math problem to…
FIND YOUR SYNERGIES ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting As someone said, conflict is inevitable in life, but combat is a choice. It’s same in the home. Where conflict ensues, they are meant to be resolved rather than resorting to hostilities. I am not an avid TV person. Besides listening to news and watching documentaries, and sometimes…
