A Duty Or Privilege?; Children Responsibility Over Parents.

The influence of cultural beliefs on parents and children's responsibilities is one of the reasons why people have different perspectives on whether parents should depend on their children's as they grow older. I have been involved in this conversation a lot of times, and it's an interesting one to discuss over and over again.

One question a lot of people ask when treating this topic is, ARE CHILDREN AN INVESTMENT?

Investing and raising a child have something in common because they require spending money for a certain period of time and expecting returns on your investment later. But investment is not mandatory if you don't have the capability yet, while raising a child is a mandatory responsibility as long as you have brought them into the world. It is the right of every parent to cater for the needs of their children and help them become better and more responsible adults.

Just like it's a mandatory responsibility for parents, they can refer to it as an investment because when it comes to catering for your child, every parent will reap whatever they sow. It's impossible for a parent who didn't do anything other than bringing a particular child into the world to expect anything from the child in the future because the chances of the child living a life better than theirs are slim.

When we think of children taking responsibility over their parents, the first thing that pops up in our heads is money, and it doesn't have to be just money because there are a whole lot of ways in which children can be helpful to their parents.

I know an elderly man in my neighborhood who is suffering from dementia, and he was a successful businessman before the illness. His children got him a caregiver since his wife is late, but they weren't satisfied with how he was taken care of, so one of them took his father abroad so they could live together.

I believe it's not always about money, and children can turn up for their parents in numerous ways when the unexpected happens in life.

Becoming a parent is a decision that needs to be thought about thoroughly, and the sole purpose of it shouldn't be to have someone to saddle our responsibility on when we grow up. Bringing a child into the world is a big deal, and unfortunately for many children, they are brought into the world by unprepared parents.

Being dragged into this world by unprepared parents has made many kids embrace responsibilities at a very young age when they should be taken care of. It hurts a lot to see these kids hawking and doing all sorts of things just to support their parents.

I am completely against parents bringing children into the world for support cases because these kids didn't beg anyone to bring them down here. Gone are the days when our forefathers bore children to support them on the farm. A lot of things have changed, and parents need to stop the habit of bearing children for work purposes.

According to Yoruba culture, caring for our parents when they are old is our responsibility. It's a tradition that a parent who has suffered and worked diligently to raise a child must be cared for by the child. Honestly, I don't have anything against these beliefs because it's a fair one even though there are still some "buts," which I discussed earlier.

If we look at it thoroughly, it would be impossible for a child to neglect his/her parents, who did their responsibilities properly while raising them. It's natural to repay the love, care, and kindness they showered upon us, so why shouldn't we do it?

In the world we live in today, it would be a shame for any child not to take care of their parents when they need us and remember, not all care has to do with financial problems.

As parents, it's important that we prepare ourselves to not be a liability to our children when we become older, and that doesn't stop us from securing our future as well. A lot of things are unpredictable in life, and we must be prepared for the unexpected.

We have seen children die at the time when their parents thought it was time to reap the fruit of their labor, so what happens to the parents? It's never a parent's prayer, but when it happens, there is nothing we can do about it. Securing our future just like we are helping our kids with theirs is very important.

Parents have their responsibilities, and children have theirs as well. I believe in fairness when it comes to child-parent responsibility. At the end of my journey, I don't want to have any regrets as a son to my parents and a father to my children.

Thanks for taking your time to read and drop a meaningful comment. Happy Weekend 🌺