I could not understand how it all happened but one thing was clear to me at that time which was; Parental upbringing. Virtually every single one of us on this platform grew up under the watch of one or more parents and this in a way helped to shape us into what we are today. Have you wondered what Joe Biden’s childhood would have looked like? Or have you tried to imagine what the childhood story of your countries President would have been like? Let me allow you to ponder over these questions but as you are doing that, I would want to push further by letting you imagine what Pope Francis’s childhood story would have been like. Don’t jump to a conclusion yet because you might be disappointed to find out that the Pope had a childhood story filled with children’s crazy stuff and the likes, you know he is human just like all of us. When looking at the life of these prominent figures in the world, you would think that they never had a crazy childhood story like most of us did, but the truth is that they are purely humans and not gods.
Were the Pope, Joe Biden and your country’s President scolded by their parents?
This question is supposed to give us all the needed push in other to understand the content of this post. Before I continue, I would like to tell you how or what made me come up with this post in the first place. I was going through WhatsApp just a few hours ago and I found something very funny but educating at the same time. I was moved to look at the content critically because I believe that for one to survive in life, one must be able to weigh things at all times, to see both their negative and positive effect. I believe you are eager to know what I saw, right? I will drop the images below and I will want you to take your time and read through each one of them just to know where you fit in.
To answer the question I asked above, yes, all the prominent figures we know in the world today at some point were living under the watch of their parents especially the mothers. This post is geared towards African mothers and their reactions when they scold their children.
African mothers
I remembered how my mother will pull my ear whenever I am being naughty or misbehaving while growing up and each time I remember this, I go into deep laughter because I could just imagine how I made her feel at that time. An average African child would have a better understanding of what I am talking about because we all had almost the same upbringing. A typical African mother will scold, pull the ear and even flog her child when he/she goes wrong. Unlike their western counterpart who would resort to talking or should I call it pep-talking, hoping that the child would listen and behave well. A typical African mother learnt how to throw either the broom or her slippers towards the child without missing even without having any prior training of some sort. She learnt all the necessary skills from her mother who at some point used those methods to scold her as she was growing up.
I have seen movies and even true stories of children from the Western part of the world talking back or even reporting their parents to the authorities because they were either scolded or flogged for their misconduct. In some of the stories, the parents end up being charged to court for abuse or any other related offence. Each time I read or hear about such stories I begin to imagine a typical African mother flogging her child and that child reports not to the authorities but either a neighbour or even the father. I would not want to tell you what the outcome will be because I believe that no typical African child will try that with his/her parents. If for any reason an African child tries that with his/her parents especially his/her mother, the child will be met with increased flogging and scolding as long as they want, it does not just end there, even the person the child reported to will join the parents to discipline the child because there is a well-known adage that says; the child is the child of the community. This is the basis of how parents train their children in a typical African community.
I cannot imagine not doing what my mother asked me to do as she leaves the house. You cannot wish to be in such a situation where she will come back and you have not done what she asked you to do. Let me give you a clearer instance. Imagine a typical African mother leaving the house either to go to the market or her workplace and she tells the child to wash the dishes littered in the kitchen. By the time she comes back and finds out that the dishes were not washed, probably because the child was busy playing football with friends, he will receive the beating of his life. That is the scenario a typical African child will meet if he goes against the orders which were given to him by the mother. This is unlike the western mothers who might probably not disturb the child who has failed to carry out a duty given to him/her. From the post, how then do you see Joe Biden, Pope and even your President? Would you not be happy to read about their childhood stories? Well, if you are not from Africa, you may not understand the pattern of child upbringing which is dominant in Africa although development and education are gradually putting a stop to it. What is your Childhood story like?
Thank you for reading this post.
Davinchysax loves you…
Lead image from unsplash.com
These stories are similar to those of America, let's remember that America is not only the North. They also applied those control tools or whatever you had in your hand. I tried never to use violence with my children, it was not necessary, they are responsible and well educated.