Growing up, my parents were the symbol of true love for me. They loved each other so much that it was the first thing you would notice when you walked into our house. As time went by, I became older and they also became older. They started to get busier and each person began to complain about workload and before you know it, the only times my mum and dad were seen together joking or gisting or mocking each other or even cooking together like they always did was during the weekends.
I noticed it and I felt happy for my parents. Happy that they both understood how busy they each were and still made out time during the weekends to have fun together. I wanted to be like them. They were times when they would have misunderstandings and my mother would come to me to tell me her side of the story while my dad would go to my immediate younger sister to tell her his own side of the story. I didn’t know why they did that but, at the end of the day, my sister and I would share the stories we had heard and try to figure out who was wrong and who was right.
Now that I think of it, maybe my parents were telling us things because they trusted our judgement and somehow wanted us to be involved with the happenings at home. Some other times, my mum would tell me to come and join her make some calculations in her business. We would calculate, make corrections, plan and she would ask me my opinion on basic things that I thought that adults should ask only adults. But, maybe my parents always saw me as an adult because yes, they would listen to my baby advice and actually put it to work.
Other times, my dad would come home and tell me to come to his room to help him do some little calculations. I can remember vividly that in the process of helping my dad count some money one day, I went from 11,000 to eleven and one thousand and he laughed at me and taught me how not to get confused. This continued with me and as my younger siblings grew, it extended to them. My parents just wanted us to be involved in the family and to a very large extent, it worked and the bond we share with my parents isn’t the parent-child bond. It is the best friend-parent-child bond.
What I’m trying to get at is, in your marriages, especially when you have children. Nothing will go wrong if you begin from a very young age to teach your children financial responsibilities and management. Children are very smart and when you start to train them from a very young age for something you want them to do, you’d notice that they would grow into amazing adults. They wouldn’t need anybody around them in the future. They would grow to be very wise and smart and I bet you, if you take your time to involve your kids in your marriage, you will breed very understanding children. Children that will trust their parents and make sure they do everything to help their family stand.
The little things we learnt from my dad and mum while growing up has shaped us so much that we understand how to handle a lot of issues and impromptu challenges even better than some adults. Also, when you make your children partners in the family instead of just children, you would see how happy they would be. Those kids would love and respect you so much and they would never want anything to jeopardize their love for you. Do you know why? It’s because they feel important in the family and they feel like true members of their family.
This might sound somehow to you if you already keep your children far away from the family’s business, but if you try it, you’ll understand that you don’t even need to start talking to anybody outside, who at the end of the day might even start sharing your discussions with others. Your children are your only friends and when you begin to teach them the value of trustworthiness from a young age, they will grow to be better citizens of the country and better people too.
Thanks for reading.
Wink’s Corner
