..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
• ‘I Love Good Foods, But I Can’t Stand My Son Becoming a Chef’
By Kingsley Obom-Egbulem
A friend was sharing with me about their first family vacation in Dubai and how during their first breakfast, his son went to use the restaurant’s rest room and got missing.
“After about 15 minutes, we became worried and frantically started looking for him” he said. “We went to the rest room but he wasn’t there and we became really disturbed, and after asking around for a few minutes, one of the hotel staff took my wife’s hand and led her to the hotel kitchen and what we saw shocked all of us”, my friend narrated.
“Heeeeeey mummy, I’m enjoying myself!” my boy screamed immediately my wife stepped into the kitchen and saw him.
It happened that the little boy had missed his way back to their restaurant table after using the restroom and somehow found himself in the restaurant’s kitchen.
He apparently got blown away by the enchanting ambience of the kitchen because my friend said it was his scream of “Wow, Jesus! This place is beautiful!” that got the attention of the chef who told everyone cooking to allow him in and ordered that the boy be given a treat. The boy kept touching everything in sight, asking questions and having the fun of his life when his parents were led in.
“Daddy, come and meet my friend” the boy said pointing at the chef . And with so much excitement, he added “daddy I want to be a chef like my friend when I grow up.”
Initially, they were relieved to have found him, but his parents didn’t find the idea of being a chef funny. Of course, they didn’t betray their feelings. The most important thing at that moment was to get out of the kitchen and continue their meal.
“We noticed that my son was always looking forward to breakfast after that incident, Kingsley, because it was an opportunity to go the kitchen, see the chef and remind us about his intention to become a chef when he grows up” said my friend.
“So, Ogbeni what is wrong with being a chef and why are you worried?” I asked my friend after he disclosed that they had to shut the boy up and warned him never to talk about being a chef again or going to the kitchen until the returned to Nigeria.
How many adults had their dreams cut short like this? Not a few, I guess! Sadly, many of the parents were victims of this anomaly are doing the same thing to their kids today.
As a father of four and coach to many kids and teenagers, one depressing drama I see regularly is how easy it is for parents to spend their hard earned money as school fees, fixated on their children’s maths and science and English scores while killing the children’s passions, dreams, talents and fantasies; the very thing the children are going to spend their lives doing after they’re done with school.
It’s amazing how the brain of some parents are wired ;you love nurses but you can’t stand your son becoming a nurse. You love good good, but you’re already developing hypertension because your son says h3 wants to be a chef. Your son says he wants to be a ballerina, you are already telling him all the dancers you know can’t feed themselves, besides its a profession for gay men, “I hope this boy is not gay?” you wonder aloud. You say teaching is the greatest profession because all the great professionals were taught by teachers but you’ve said “over my dead body” when your daughter told you she wants to become a teacher.
My real worry about these ugly seeds we are sowing today, we won’t love the ugly harvest it’s going to yield some years from now- a miserable adult, no doubt! Some of us would blame youth unemployment, social media and peer pressure. But we won’t take responsibility for not allow our kids pursue their dreams, passion and talent.
Why not talk to a talent manager today and avoid the making of another miserable adult tomorrow. Or get a copy of *When Fishes Climb Trees* and then engage with your child. It might just your biggest investment today. Enquiries about this book should be sent by email to: editor@parentingnow.com.ng or kingsley@familiaprimera.ng
Kingsley could also be reached on +234 805 378 8199
