How often do we hear the stories of children who rebel ? They run away from home and do drugs; get pregnant early and marry at an age when they should still be in school and having fun.
Parents ask themselves then " Where did I go wrong ?" Does this sound familiar to you? Are you one of the rebels or one of the parents? I am a mother to four children. Two boys and two girls. My eldest and second boy are both in high school while my two girls are both in primary. I have always seen myself as a cool mom. I like the same music that my children go for. We all love sports and we share the same interests be it in movies, food or even clothes. By the way , I turned 40 this year.
They say I look young for my age so I get away with dressing up like a 20 year old but not go beyond my border. Television and books are my key elements to raising up my brood. Definitely, the way my parents brought me up will forever be my reference mental book;But then , they too had shortcomings, and that is where I have learned to deal with my babies. The other day, my 6 year old girl who is in grade 1 came home from school. I did my usual hide behind the door thing and surprised her.
She then went straight to the dining table and took out her snack box. Apparently, she was not able to finish her food so she decided to eat it at home. I started asking her questions like "How was your quiz ?" and asked for her score. She told me she got perfect in two quizzes but got 12/20 in Social Studies. There, I started reacting and without batting an eyelash say " What? You promised me you would give me good grades !" My baby did not answer.
I looked her way and asked again : " Was it hard? We studied yesterday. What was it all about?". Again I did not use my brain and just went on blabbing. Still, there was no answer. She just sat there eating her food.
I decided to sit with her at the table and that's when I noticed that she was teary eyed. My baby cried and at that moment I knew I was wrong. I asked her why she was crying and I have hurt her. She nodded her head and said "I tried my best and I am very tired; then I just told you I got perfect in two of the three tests given but you got mad at me for getting a low score in one of them and not happy with the two good ones." It broke my heart to hear how she felt and to realize how insensitive I was. I immediately hugged her and said sorry. Innocence befits her for she forgave me right away. Sometimes, Parents are really insensitive to how their kids feel. For as long as they have said their piece and they feel the anger in them released; Then they are already contented. The lesson I have learned from my child is to be more sensitive and become more of a listener than a talker.
Being a PARENT does not mean we are and will be right all the time. Probably, this is the reason why a lot of teen-agers rebel. They feel as if no one understands and nothing right will come out from what ever it is he is doing. At the same time the children doesn't know that their parents should know how they feel towards the incident or the sermons they were given. Children of all ages should understand that it can be a two- way street. They have the right to say how they feel without being or sounding disrespectful. As I have heard from a Pastor friend ; Think and be sensitive to how others would feel before letting out a word or two slip from your mouth. There is a proper place and a proper time for everything...There should also be the correct term for everything as well. Basically, the key to all of these is just COMMUNICATION....Be a Parent ...yes...but be their FRIEND too....This will help you and your child understand each other better...... Very simple yet most parents tend to take this FOR GRANTED.
