African Parents... The Best

Hello Bloggie!

Inspired by +NAIJA BOYZ’ wreckingball remix, I thought I should pay tribute to those who could influence such a crazy and amazing video; African parents. I’ve watched that video at least ten times since my bro sent it to me. It’s simply amazing. I'm glad they're back and that they took their creativity to the next level. 

As I mentioned in my post about Africans, we’re amazing. A lot of this amazingness stem from how our parents raised us. If you’ve met an African who grew up at home, I bet they'll have tales for days!! Most of those tales will be about their parents, their older relatives or if they went to boarding school, their experiences there. I can’t recall a day at home without drama be it in my house or just down the street. Someone always did something fascinating. 

Africans definitely believe that if you spare 1cm of the rod, you've spoilt the child (the leeway can be that small). So to prevent that, disciplinary actions like those in the video above are born. It is best to cast out those demons in the child before they consume them and your child gets out of hand. From interactions, I’ve found that the children that are born outside home may/may not have different experiences since it depends on whether or not their parents are trying to hold on to tradition. 

Luckily, I never chopped igabti (the type of slap that makes you see birds and stars. I've heard and seen it reorient children instantly). That's not to say that I misbehaved or that my parents were not capable of it. My mother possesses some type of mind power that still works till today. I tell you no matter how far she is from me, I always feel she can see me and knows exactly what I’m thinking! She also has the magic power of "the look". It's the look that says "you better stop whatever it is you're doing right now", "don't let me stop whatever it is I'm doing just so I can hear you whine", “you’re not going out with me dressed like that”, and “don’t you dare embarrass me out here!" amongst other things. It’s the one look that says it all no matter the situation. I'm practicing mine for my children… hehe. 

Once, my siblings and I watched a show in which the killer cited being beaten (not abused) by his parents as the reason for being a killer. Simultaneously, we said "I guess almost all Nigerian children could be killers too!” Back in the day, you didn’t only take the beatings from your parents. It was probably and still is (but maybe not as strong) villages that raised the children. So you had your uncles, aunties, your teachers and even cousins as your parents. Of course some took their disciplinary duties too far. I can see how foreigners might call the actions violent (and some are) but this is a generation that witnessed colonization and national wars. I dare you to witness that and not be some kind of tough.

Anyways, back to the parents. I always thought that if Bill Cosby had come to Nigeria back in the day, he would have had the show "Parents Say the Darndest Things" because they honestly do. Without them, we would never have known…

• That a "C" is really a consolation grade and means you failed the course.
• That it is possible for all parents to come first in all their classes. 
• All the tales we can proudly tell our children about them and their forefathers.
• That it is impossible for our parents to be wrong.
• How to distinguish between a spoilt child and one with common sense (and feel great about being the latter).
• How to think ahead (you see if you want to do something, it’s best you consider the repercussions and probably judge how they’ll react/how it’ll impact you). Living in the moment can wait… maybe forever.
• They always know what their children are thinking.
• How to yell at and have conversations with our televisions while watching it.
• How to think before we talk (because there is such a thing as a stupid question).
• How to have conversations using only facial expressions.
• How to listen attentively because they "will only say this once".
• How to think fast and smart on our feet (if you're going to lie, there better be no loop holes and delay is dangerous).
• How to multitask and have good time management (they usually have more than one errand for you at the same time).
• How to appreciate life, fight for success, and respect our elders.
• Lastly, we would lack such awesome materials in our lives that make videos like these possible!

To all my African parents, thank you so much! 

In the spirit of old school, here's a song by Yvonne Chaka Chaka [Umqombothi] we all jammed continent-ally (parents and children alike). I only realized yesterday it was about BEER! Still love it though :). 

And I apologize for not posting yesterday. Been under the weather lately. Oh and my god-puppy just had puppies yesterday! I know I'm not an Oyibo girl, but wetin man go do? :)

Adios!

Tonia