Online Reporter
Fadzayi Maposah
Correspondent
I HAD a discussion with someone who told me that suddenly in their adult age, there seems to be a flood of childhood memories.
While everything during the childhood phase was not rosy, there are some things that seem to stand out.
For the happy moments, the adult is truly thankful.
The young woman said that she was happy with her childhood. While she was not from a rich background, her childhood memories were priceless.
There are many adults working flat out to ensure that their children have a decent life.
The sad part is that the parents may fail to have relationships with their children, while they leave home for work very early and return very late. While the parents work hard and pay bills, which they think are important (and which still are important), the children long for their companionship.
In some of their dreams, the children sing along and dance with their parents. After the dancing, they play ball and celebrate as they outrun their parents.
The parents take their time to celebrate and carry them on their shoulders as they run together. There are many giggles and laughter.
The father picks up the other child that has been screaming and also asking to be picked up and races again across the lawn.
The family dog is not to be left out in the fun. It leaps and rolls on the lawn, barking. The combination of the laughter and the barking is sweet music. Those watching the family bonding can only smile, it is infectious.
The ones who had been in the house, thinking it is all child`s play, look out of the window and then decide to come out and join in the fun.
Sekuru and Mbuya (grandfather and mother), who are visiting from the rural areas, come and watch. They smile.
The family is bonding very well. They race up and down the lawn, and each of them remembers a long time ago when they were young and could run all over the place.
Now the body can not do that anymore.
Even getting up is no walk in the park. Then they remember that life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.
There was a time when the parent they see racing on the lawn now was their child, and they never seemed to have time to play. They were just busy.
Time cannot be turned back for them to take their child to childhood. It would have been good to have played with their child back then.
Sekuru speaks first; “We should have done this when our children were small.”
Mbuya nods in agreement.
The family that has been racing all over the lawn together with their dog quickly comes to sit with Sekuru and Mbuya.
The laughter has not ceased. The dog rolls in the grass while the family tries to catch their breath.
The dream ends.
The dreamer wakes up with a smile on his face and realises that it was all a fantasy as he hears the sound of the gate and just draws the curtains to see his parents leaving.
It is still dark, but their working day has begun.
In a discussion with some young people this week, I realised that some yearn to be with their parents, who would in turn be burdened by many commitments that take them away from the home for hours.
I told these young people that when they are teenagers, they tend to alienate their parents and families because of their actions.
They seem to ignore the people who love and care about them. I told them that many parents endure adolescence, rather than enjoy it.
When the parents try to reach out to young people, the teens may push them away, accusing them of interference.
The parents then take a back seat and then the adolescents complain that they are being ignored.
It is a taxing time for the parents/guardians and the young people.
I asked the young people how they thought the conflict should be handled.
They said that the parents/guardians should have close relationships with them so that they can open channels of dialogue.
They encouraged the parents to be open with them when they have issues so that young people know the support they can render.
I was informed that young people can be very supportive, but the challenge is that the parents only amplify bad news.
I was eager to know what this was and I was told that when parents have money, they do not share the news, yet when they are broke it is shared at every opportunity, even when it is uncalled for.
The young people said that when they are adolescents, they want also want to be included in decisions that affect them.
What I picked from the discussion is that young people need time with their parents and they do not want to be introduced with the dreaded line; “I think we should talk.”
Once that is done, young people become defensive.
The beginning of the week commemorated the Day of the African Child. This shows that as a country, there are concerted efforts to ensure children’s rights are upheld.
Parents need to be empowered to deal with the challenges their children face. Every child has a dream.
The parents should support these young people to at least live their dreams.
