There is a verse in the Holy Bible which talks about training up a child in the way he should grow, so that even when he grows old, he will not depart from it. These nice words can be found in Proverbs chapter 22 vr 6.
In training up a child, the parents or the guardian must know that, compared to adults, children learn much faster. I have always been of the mindset that, kids are fast at learning. Children relate and turn to learn first about things they see or hear around them. Every child, whether brainy or not can remember a thing from TV and radio commercials.
This is why it is very important that, parents become meticulous with what they talk about when their children are around. Their utterances should be checked. Children are known to be quick at picking insults hailed on people by people around them. They also have the tendency to ask questions when they look lost.
If a child is quick at remembering basic things said in their presence, what then becomes of a child whose dad constantly smokes in his presence? What of a child whose mum hails insults at least provocation when the child is around? Such a child will be a spoilt-brat before he even grows up.
Most boys tend to follow the patterns of their fathers. Whiles girls tend to do same with their mothers. This is why expressions like this; like father like son or like mother like daughter is constantly on the lips of many to associate the child with his or her parents based on similarities in conduct.
A friend has seen the sense in being independent. After helping him with another friend of ours to buy stuff to decorate his room, we retired in the nearby Banku and Tilapia joint. We were so famished as the result of walking in Ghana’s scorching sun.
The sun blazes too much in Ghana. When one is walking in this sun, it burns as if the person is being punished. I won’t doubt it if the burns from the sun is responsible for the nut-heads in Ghana called politicians. This burn from the sun is so severe and so annoying. It makes people feel very uncomfortable.
After finally retiring to our seats, waiting for the waitress to attend to us. I chanced upon a very nice looking and smartly dressed young lady. She walked hurriedly pass us to grab a seat in a company of a school girl of about ten years.
The school girl was dressed in a school uniform with her school bag at her back. From the look of things, the lady must be her mother as they bear resemblance.
The lady wore what looks like a brownish suit which fitted and complimented her body curves.
Her body curves were a bit confusing and intimidating. Her figure is not that of a model. She is a bit gifted with flesh, not excess flesh though. Her hairstyle was well fixed; her suit was well ironed with a much cleaned pair of shoes to match it. She carried herself around like a corporate person.
After our orders have been taken, we looked at her direction on many occasions and signalled each other with eye contacts to concur that, the woman is ‘fine’. There is something about dark looking ladies that drives me nuts. She sat close to me on my right side. Anytime I looked at her direction from my side view, my mind went blank with funny ideas.
After we were served with our drinks and awaiting for the almighty Banku and Tilapia, the woman who has captured our sense of reasoning was served with Guinness, an alcoholic beverage. The fact that, the woman was drinking an alcoholic drink in the presence of the school girl changed our moods. Which responsible parent will drink in the presence of her child? We whispered to ourselves.
But the real shocker came as she ordered a cigarette on top of it. As she smoked, the school girl who sat opposite her was busy doing her homework. She unknowingly inhaled the smoke as the woman puffs out. She didn’t appear to be a smoker but I remembered appearance can be deceptive.
To our amazement, she ordered a new set of cigarette and a drink. As she continued to smoke, we devoured our plates of the Banku and Tilapia. We felt bad for the little school girl but we couldn’t gather the courage to approach the woman.
What will this child think of smoking by the time she is 18? Life is a long journey and we pick and learn a lot from the people around us…It is one thing if an adult smokes and it is another if she does it in front of innocent little girls…
GC Life 101 is a feature on GhanaCelebrities.Com. This looks at various life realities in short story forms as we try to entertain, educate and inform our readers on a variety of life experiences. Articles for GC Life 101 will be filed under Blog.
MeThinks of what it may have been like for Tonto Dike as a child.u expressed the normalization of smoking well, some parents paa
nope no matter what no smoking in front of kids…dont collapse the lungs by the age of thirty!!!