FAMILY MATTERS
Active Parenting
By Flavor Mang’ula
T
he quintessential parent in this
the 21st century has demands
on them that equal a high
capacity performing robot.
With the modern day pressures of work
and all that comes with it, parenting has
never been so challenging. Never before
has the time of human beings been under
so much strain like present day.
Yet under all these circumstances more
than ever we have to be very active,
deliberate and intentional parents.
Parenting is all about being present for
your child. However, being present is not
so easy to understand. Your role is not just
to monitor your children and discipline
them whenever the occasion arises.
You have to get involved in their lives
as a mentor, as a guardian, as a friend,
who doesn’t just correct them when they
do something wrong, but who channels
positive behaviors and guides them to
avoid ‘disciplining’ them. You have to
instill human values which will represent
their foundation as they go through life,
learning and passing forward what you
taught them.
Parenting is hard work, it’s not for the
faint hearted, it’s exhausting, complicated
and very often frustrating. However its but
for a season and if you do it right, you will
have the pride of observing your offspring
tackle the journey of life with extreme
finesse, and that’s why it’s so critically
important to be active and involved in
your children’s life.
As parents we have calibrated our day
hours so tightly that we have almost no
time to sneeze. Our days begin as early
as 5:00 am and off we hit the road to our
various vocations. The day is inundated
with meetings and administrative tasks,
sometimes at the expense of a short break
for lunch. Evening comes and here we
distribute ourselves into various buckets
within the city.
Some hit out to the gym, some make a
The call is squarely within our purview. Make
that adjustment, let’s move towards responsible
parenting. With the same gusto we attack work
let’s do the same with raising our kids. Remem-
ber it’s more important what we leave in our
children that what we leave for them.
44 MAL21/17 ISSUE
dash to the various business classes to
attain the over rated MBA, some make
a beeline to the nearest watering hole for
the proverbial Jeremiahs waters, while
some flock various restaurants and hotels
to catch up with friends and acquaintances
alike. Now please remember the actors on
all these stages are mostly parents with
kids in school ranging from infants to 20
year olds.
These poor kids have been left to their
own devices and in fact have mastered
their parent’s timetables and schedules.
They have become self-sufficient and
manage their own time and life in the
few hours they get home after school.
When they get home, the househelps have
probably prepared them a quick snack and
thereafter the “youngin” is now released
to their own devices. They will decide
whether to tackle their homework or
watch a cartoon on TV, or start browsing
the net or log on to social media.
Because you are an absentee parent you
have over compensated by making available
excess niceties. We have to change lanes
and start being active parents. Now on
their own these freedoms you have allowed
the child to have like access to high speed
internet, an active phone, television, games
etc, are okay and can actually facilitate the
child wholesomely. However unattended
and unsupervised you have exposed the
child to pornography, illicit browsing, and