This is a poem that touched me. Hope you get the message.
Mum says I don’t care
Mum says I don’t give hugs
Like the Hollywood kids do as they leave
With sweet words and passionate snugs
“I love you” “I miss you” “It’s hard to leave”
Mum says I don’t share
All the juicy stories of boys and men
The flirters, the bold, and the ones that care
My first date, my first kiss, she knows not when
Mum says I don’t care
I don’t beg for the tales of years before
I don’t sit by her bed and rub her hair
I don’t notice when her ankles are sore
But mom doesn’t see
That the years have passed she didn’t see my tears
While she worked hard, couldn’t listen to my fears
Now I’m old independent, have my circle of companions
How can I in a month learn the display of affections
Mom doesn’t know
That I’m grown now
And it’s almost too late
To relearn how to communicate
© Adebusoye Damilola
This poem illustrates the situation in many African homes. African parents have for a long time considered the display of affection as unnecessary and they have little conversations with their children as they get to a certain age. However, these are building blocks for communication difficulties in later years.
What would you like the future to look like between you and your kids with regards to conversations, display of affection and discipline? Start it now.
