I have come to realize that every parent has a commitment to their children.
Throughout my speaking events and my life-changing, television show, Future Prospects, it is apparent to me that some parents have dropped the ball—leaving raising their most valuable creation to society!
Mentorship, guidance, listening with an emphatic ear and most importantly, loving unconditionally, without judgement, has gone absent, for quite a long time. If we do not wake up and face reality, we will soon see the bigger repercussions of this on our future leaders.
On a personal note, my dysfunctional childhood was a painful one, as many young people have experienced, but overcome!
Looking back, it breaks my heart how my parents unrepresented and disrespected their parenting role. Don’t get me wrong, some days it was okay, especially on my Daddy’s paydays. We could look forward to fish and chips (I mean the real deal guys), with a huge portion of cod accompanied with sausages, called Savaloys, they were delicious!
Pickled onions, but forget the mushy peas (never heard about that one, and I’m British, mate)!
Those were the good old days, but other days, my home life was like hell on earth.
Home never felt like my home. It was not like my friends homes, which I admired so much and many times dreamed of being part of, envisioning myself as their daughter, because my home was true inner pain for me.
Tension always. Constantly watching out for sudden fights and keeping the peace. So to keep normalcy between my parents, I became a marriage councillor at the ripe age of 21.
Keeping a long story short, it caught up with me, but I persevered and overcame it. Here I am, a successful inspirational speaker to all, and especially dear to my heart, to our future leaders, today’s youth.
Parents, it’s your Curtain Call. Wake up! You are the binding tie within your children’s life forever, not just until they turn eighteen, but continually, until they are mature enough to live their own lives.
Throughout, my speaking events, I have spoken to numerous students, about their home lives. I heard their pain and unhappiness, about putting on a pretend smile to hide their inner pain.
Parents, your children today, desperately seek acceptance, first and foremost from you, their own parents. Not from social media or television, but from their parents, who brought them into this world.
Here are some simple ways you can show your acceptance:
1. Attend parents’ meetings at school
2. Go to their sports games, plays, musical recitals etc.
3. Be there, when they seek guidance and advice
4. Create quality family time
5. Listen without judgement and build trust
6. Don’t compare them to siblings or yourself
** Our children may not share all, but knowing they have a platform and a loving home to go to, makes all the difference in their developmental journey.
My husband and I are such proud and blessed parents, we count our blessings everyday.
When we see our son, and how he has developed, it reassures us of the investment we have put into his development. Building his self confidence and morals, listening and supporting his ideas and dreams, when needed. Creating a young man who can see the right from wrong, with good manners and the ability to respect others, as well as himself.
He needed to see the example within his own parents marriage, experience the tools of a family, to learn from and implement into his own, when he decides to have one!
Now, we are not perfect, but we’re his parents all the way!!
It was my mission and duty as his mother, the day I found out I was expecting (which changed my life), to not have MY own family live as my family had. I wanted a home where he could come home from school to HIS home!
Parents, you are the first teachers your children see everyday. Others will come into effect, but your children will always know the ones who are truly sincere to their success!
It’s our duty to not create excuses, but to prepare our children, have open conversations, listen with an empathetic ear, step up to the plate, and be there at all times!
Children are not trophies, but real people who did not ask to come into this world. They were brought in by you, two people that must complete the journey and be role models for the rest of their living lives!!
Guide your children to become integrating, intelligent, respectful people, with morals of life. Then, they may go freely into society for others to discover the inner diamonds they each possess and what inspires their dreams!