Image is mine
First of all, I'll start by saying one good turn deserves another. That being said, I have always seen and taken parenting as a very serious business.
Bringing up a child to the stage of a full grown adult is not a walk in the park and certainly it's not a joke. You invest your time and your emotions, you basically sacrifice a portion of your life just so your child or children become successful adults.
Another thing is that children are investments whether we like it or not, and like every other investment ventures, certainly we expect one form of return or the other.
In the western world, they have some sort of organized system for citizens in the likes of tax refund and old people’s benefits.
Their pension system is working and functioning just fine which can’t be compared to what we have going on here. In Nigeria, an individual will work for 35years and have all their retirement benefits, pension and gratuity unpaid.
The western system also promotes individuality such that an eighteen years old child is expected to have some sort of independence from their parents. Sometimes we see a sixteen years old already working and contributing to the running of the home with their parents. That is return of investment to that parents.
However, in Africa, Nigeria especially, we do not have such luxury. Our dependency ratio is very high.
It’s not uncommon to see a 40years old man still living with his parents and even being fed by them. Some of them might even want to Marry and bring the wife to be living in the family house with their parents.
I remember during my masters program, one of my professor an aged man was complaining bitterly the bad state of the Nigeria Labour market. He was telling us how he’s currently training his daughter for her Masters degree since landing a job is difficult.
Our parents basically invest their whole life in giving us ours, so it will be quite unfair if we get of age and can’t help them smooth sail in their old age.
But then, it is pertinent that parents should not mount pressure on their children when they come of age. They should realize that these children turn Adults now have their own life to live and often time their own family unit.
Thus, parents should at all times, unless they are invalid get something doing even if its petty trading.
Sadly in underdeveloped countries, most of the parents whom invested little or nothing in their children’s well being are first to make incessant demands thereby causing some of their children to turn to crime just to meet up.
Number one rule of parenting remains, setting up yourself first, be responsible and self sustaining before bringing in an additional member. Do not breed in poverty because often time it doesn’t end well.
I do not plan to be solely dependent on anyone in life. Thus, I am suffering now to enjoy later.
