Effective Parenting - Part 1

There is a popular favourite saying of parents whenever their kids attempt to play some certain funny pranks. The saying goes thus; “what you think you can see from the top of a tree, we; that is the parents, can see it sitting down.” it is also said in pidgin; “The thing wen old man they see, even if small pikin climb ladder, he no go see am”.

Meaning that the parents don’t need to stress themselves because whatever tricks the child has up his or her sleeve, the parent(s) already know without any need to hassle themselves. The assumption is that since they’d obviously been children before, they know whatever the child will be intuited to do.

However, some parents think that they know it all and not all the predictions are right. Besides there are so many things that the teenagers of nowadays are cognizant of that their parents do not know or think that they don’t know. Especially with the advent of technology and social media, it’s very difficult and almost impossible to restrain the information that the teenagers are exposed to on a daily basis.

Presently, we have virtually thousands of social media networks, like the; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr., Instagram, VK, Flickr, MySpace, meetup, classmates, match.com, Plentyoffish, Zoosk, okcupid, eHarmony, ChristianMingle, OurTime, Blackpeoplemeet, Speed Date, Chemistry.com, amidst many others.

This social networks weren’t live during the latter generation. Most of these social networks have some very corrupt and polluted information that can really affect negatively the mind of a child.

I think it can be agreed that the saying should be restructured and changed to “what a child think he sees while climbing on a tree, the parents will climb with him, or ascend higher, so you can properly observe what your child is up to”.

The strength of teenagers or youth cannot surpass the experience of age. However, experience doesn’t mean all knowing. It just means you have a better handle on situations and problems when younger people are falling apart. However, with the newer innovations and the world becoming a global village; what was obtainable in the olden days, has been flushed down the toilet of this modern age.

Parents need to know that seeing while sitting down is no longer valuable especially with the children of this era, teenage age; especially can be ascribed as where the adolescence tends to be rebellious and want to hang out with peers who are likely to influence them negatively.

In this modern society, parenting teenagers is a very serious warfare. In times past, of the 18^th and 19^th century, teenagers dressing now would be classified as aliens from other planets, who is a stranger by the people who lived then.

Even their new slogans, like, “Hanging out”, “Mumsi”, “Popsi”, “Chillin out”, “Sup” and many others, defer definitions to the normal human understanding. Most of our ancestors would have considered the languages, insulting or some of the slogans as for another meaning entirely than it was supposed to be.

This is the period of shock, where you will expect some outrageous suggestions and questions and to have decided beforehand how you are going to deal with them. And the only way you will be able to deal with such situations is when you are prepared. And you can only be prepared if you keep up to date with situations and happenings.

This is not over yet, there is a concluding part of Effective Parenting. Stay Tuned.