Online Reporter
Dear Parents
There comes a time in the life of every parent — a very difficult and testing period — the teenage years of their children.
It is a phase filled with dreams, hopes, silent prayers and often, deep disappointments.
As a parent, you start with love and vision. You send your child to a good school. You sacrifice comfort so they can wear a decent uniform, have enough books and be exposed to quality learning. When results don’t come out as expected, you don’t give up — you seek extra lessons, talk to teachers and even fast and pray for their success.
You plant the right values. You teach them to pray, to speak respectfully, to avoid bad company, to work hard. You hope. You believe.
But something changes. As their bodies grow and teenage emotions kick in, they begin to pull away.
The little boy who once held your hand no longer wants to be seen walking with you. The girl who once told you everything now hides her phone and becomes distant.
For some, that change becomes painful. Some girls fall pregnant while still in school. Some boys turn to drugs and alcohol.
They get caught in wrong crowds, get lost in fake love stories, or swept away by social media lies.
The dreams you held in your heart begin to fade. The academic star you once believed in starts to dim. And the pain is real.
Then after high school, for some, the storm worsens. All you hear are stories — dating gone wrong, arrests, depression, failure. Parents begin to blame themselves. “Where did I go wrong?”
But even in this darkness, hope is not lost.
To all parents in agony: do not lose heart. Keep loving. Keep guiding. Keep praying. Some seeds take longer to sprout.
Your child may be in a dark season, but with love, patience and support, they can still find their way back.
Never stop believing. Never stop speaking life into them.
Parenting teenagers is a storm. But storms pass. And sometimes, after the storm, comes the most beautiful sunrise.
Dr. Manners Msongelwa
Author | Teacher | Youth Coach
+263 771 019 392
Bongani Ndlovu