February 15, 2013     Africa blogger     "Bakhita"        Previous articles

PARENTING

 Parenting is a joy yet it has its challenges. I am a mother of many children. In the African culture, its taboo to count the number of children one has. Biologically I have two children but God has blessed me with six other children to take care off and they all know me as their mother.

Two of them are adolescent boys in high school, aged 16years. For the last two terms, they have been so difficult. One has poor grades not because he is a poor student but because he is simply not putting any effort into his studies, and the other has had discipline issues in school. The later was recently suspended from school because he was caught smoking bhang. He has denied these allegations and the school wants to expel him. He is in a crucial class as he is taking his final High School Exams in the month of November.

While trying to analyze the entire situation, I cannot help but ask where did we as the parents/guardians of these boys go wrong? Is there something that we should have done that we didn’t do or shouldn’t have done and we did?

What sort of example are they being to the younger ones, who look up to them and think that they are cool? What do we do to make it right before it's too late, as when they come out into the world, it will be harsh for them and we may not be able to shield them? What do we do to ensure that even the younger ones do not stray but remain in the teachings that we give them, what they are taught by their teachers and at Sunday school? I pray for understanding, patience and skill in this trying period as these are Children that the Lord has given me on loan and that I shouldn’t give up on them