Columnists
Someone At Last Starting to Take Note of the Children
From the Outside Looking
Usually, when walking with their parents or caretakers, children who are about three years of age and below will be holding the hand of the elder person. And generally, they show signs of happiness or excitement when walking along. They keep on skipping, jumping and generally being active.
The guardians normally walk at the elders’ own pace, not paying attention to their young ones, who, while they are skipping along, do as best as possible to keep up with the pace of the older persons. The older persons are not keen to realise the stress they put their children to because the children do not show any sign of tiredness.
The older persons keep looking ahead to where they are going, while the kids are looking anywhere else but ahead. They want to notice everything in their surroundings.
But now, the Mama Tendo Foundation (MTF) has also started to notice what the kids do and what they are up to. Normally, parenting is a personal and intimate relationship between the parents and children. This allows the parents to mistreat children in a bullying fashion. Notice that you walk with the children; the caretakers are unconcerned about their pace for the children.
A short while ago, a child, probably two years old, was excited about what she was looking at, the cellphone an elder was holding in his hand, while he was sitting on a chair. She was screeching and jumping up and down, looking at what was on the phone. The reaction of the elder: “Shut up,” he shouted at the child. Instead of shutting up, she cried!
It is a reaction of disappointment and a comment of misunderstanding by the elder person. That was parental inattention!
Or, at Owino Market, a mother went about harassing her three-or-so-year-old son, who had gone about playing in the busy place. It would have appeared that she had wanted him to be with her where she was doing her business. But children are hardly idle; their incredible cell multiplication in the body, as the growing-up process is going on, mandates that they have activity to dissipate the energy released in growing up.
The mother did not understand this. Instead, she shouted at the other elders who disagreed with her parenting. “I am his mother.” Very well; but she was not mothering well!
That is what MTF research is indicating. In their data that will be revealed at the National Parenting Symposium on July 31, 2025, only 56% of children reach their full developmental potential at that age. And it shows up in their later life. This is due to bad parenting and inattention, and a lack of proper guidance that the children receive from those who are supposed to guide them well, for their later life.
With the assistance of Housing Finance Bank, MTF is in a bid to show that “the health of a nation begins in its households”. It is putting the parents at the heart of the national growth. This begins at home. It is going to show that the function of the mother and father in bringing up their children has been marginalised. And this affects the overall national development.
This statistic of 56% is a red flag. It indicates a development crisis. Forty-four per cent of the children are neglected, and scant attention paid to them. It shows when the parents are walking with their young ones. It is showing up in the number of neglected street children. According to NTF, “Poorly guided children become vulnerable to early pregnancy, school dropout, substance abuse and violence. These social issues, when left unaddressed, spiral into economic and public health costs, placing a strain on already burdened systems.”
Led by Ms. Catherine Ruhweza, MTF and Housing Finance Bank are giving value to corporate social responsibility – CSR- and are positioning understanding on social issues that lead to responsible nation-building.
MTF has so far reached over half a million families by showing support to the parenting process. Their consistency is valuable but the consequences may appear more or less in the next generation. In other words, these past generations have missed the boat. In fact, this can be shown by the contemporary moral decay that shows up in virtually every everyday activity.
MTF has to gauge its effect on society by actively using the media to see to it that it is going somewhere in its efforts. It is a huge task that more CSRs and banks should take into.
Comments
