I live in a family apartment with my brother, my mum and my two boys. One sunday morning, i wasnt feeling up to church but insisted that the boys must go.
They got up, washed up, had breakfast and said they were ready to go.
But I looked up and realised a lot of things that would cause my mum and brother to nag them if they didn't fix them.
Arranging plates and kitchen utensils back in their places, feeding the dog, ensuring there was water in the fridge in case we had guests and a few little stuff.
It suddenly hit me that while the adults could fix this, we had all gradually eased this little tasks onto the boys and I honestly can imagine my mum's reaction of I told her the boys were almost late for church was why the kitchen was not arranged. Remember, an adult would get away with that excuse.
For while we push for them to enjoy the innocence of childhood, we are actually pushing for them to remain the all important lubricant, the motivation that keeps us moving as a family and as a society.
Happy Children's Day to every child in the world!
You are more important than the lubricant
Some of you might not understand where I am coming from, but in a Yoruba household especially in a family compound, the young ones get dumped with the chores no-one likes. Most times, the chores are unending and the kids always get scolded for not prioritising the chores.
Thus I realised that children, despite their many needs, despite their tantrums and infighting, are indeed the lubricants that keep the family system rolling.
They are used to cover up negative acts of adults, used as excuse by some and often exploited to fill a number of inadequacies by many adults.
This observation is what led me to write this, hoping we would understand and appreciate every child around us.
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