HYPE AND HOOPLA: THE FALLACY OF SUPER KIDS ‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting
HYPE AND HOOPLA: THE FALLACY OF SUPER KIDS
‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting
My wife showed me a post she watched on social media of a ‘super kid’, not more than 3 or 4 years old, who did amazing things while being recorded. She (the kid) was smart, funny, agile, witty and clever all at once. She was as entertaining as she was educative. She was a regular on her mum’s Instagram handle which has grossed several thousand followers. I took time to watch other posts on this amazing kid. She was presented as simply extraordinary, prodigious and titanic.
Sometimes, comments on social media are as amusing and interesting if not more, than the real post, so, I love reading comments. I went to the comments and I was not disappointed. I read how people commented about how blessed the woman is for having such a smart kid. Some who have no kids yet or have not yet married prayed to have such a kid. Some swore that the little girl had the brains of an adult and an IQ that is unrivalled. One particular comment said “wow, how can I get my daughter to be smart like this?”
I later discovered that there were many such contents on social media.
I could not help laughing. This was of course, nothing but content creation. I have been asked a couple of times whether it is right to display one’s children on social media. This is a different discourse I may address some other day, possibly soon. On this, I refrain from judging anyone, but keep my opinion to myself. All I know is that, for me and my wife, it’s a decision we made to keep our children as much as possible away from our social media life. Why? They have their lives to live and when they come of age, let them decide for themselves how much publicity they want for themselves. For others who love and do it, it’s their prerogative. I wrote in one of my books #BUSTING PARENTING FALLACIES that everyone in their home, is their own parenting expert!
So much of digression, now back to the fallacy of super kids…. My wife and I discussed and agreed how that these contents that look like every day in the life of the kid, possibly took days to record; days of teleguiding the kid on what to say and how to act, days of ring light and camera adjustments and days of classic, vintage editing that make the shoot look so real and convincing as though it happened with spontaneity. Remember, this is content, and for the likes, comments, views and shares which fetch monetary rewards, the content creator mum or dad is energized.
Imagine therefore, a follower believing that their own kids are inferior and silently wishing that the online ‘superkid’ were theirs. It is the deception of social media. Social media with its numerous, endless possibilities and positive offerings, have become a snare and a noose for many. It has become a veritable track for running a fierce, interminable rat race, one without a finish line ribbon. It is a synthetic platform where people parade simulated lifestyles and an egoistic promotion of self. And, we have drawn our children into it.
Don’t get me wrong. I respect the decision of those who create contents such as the one my wife watched and showed me, which are replete on social media. After all, content creation is a money spinner, a new, contemporary ‘profession’. However, let no one be deceived into believing that there is a super kid out there that spontaneously does all those amazing stunts, to the extent that they demonise their own and feel inferior, as a parent.
While there are child prodigies, no child is an omnipotent superkid who can do all things, knows all things and can pull all stunts. On the contrary however, every child is a superstar in their own unique way, with their unique giftings, talents and genius. No child is inferior to the other. It is the responsibility of every parent to bring out the God-given potentials in these children whose destinies He has benevolently committed to us to midwife.
*‘Femi Adekunle* , a Parenting and Family Coach, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
Email: femi383@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 08055103512
24th October, 2025
