21/02/2023
Parents please, let your WORDS as often as possible be filled with kindness and love when correcting or instructing your teenagers.
A lot of teenagers are depressed and broken today because of the manner at which their parents speak to them.
I was a guest instructor at a Teens gathering sometime ago, I taught them on; "HOW TO IDENTIFY AND PURSUE THEIR PURPOSE IN LIFE".
After the class, a young boy (14 years) approached me with a smile and asked me this question.
The Boy; "Uncle, am I also born for a purpose? Can I ever become anything in life"? I thought maybe he didn't understand my teaching well, so I responded,
Me: my dear, Sure, you can become anything you want. As I said while teaching, God never created anything and anyone with a purpose.
The Boy: (with tears) But Uncle, my mother calls me "Born by mistake" , a nonentity, she says "I cant amount to anything". I began to believe her at a point because I didn't seem good enough for anything.
The first thing I did was to disabuse and debunk all those negetive words from his mind, I told him how precious he is to us all.
I sold the idea of Self-Love and confidence to him and placed him on my personal follow up list.
What was this boy's crime? His mother conceived him out of wedlock, the father denied the pregnancy and after those trial times, she has settled down with another man.
She now puts all the agonies of her yesterday on this innocent boy. They aren't training him in school, other well-meaning individuals around him are footing his academic bills, in one of the Government owned secondary schools here in Abuja.
I only communicate him through a neighbour's phone line, because his mom would beat him up if anyone calls him through her phone.
This is not the only time I have encountered teenagers complaining bitterly about the harsh words and phrases their parents and guardians use on them.
Please parents, those negative words have the potentials of keeping these teenagers from their very best and God ordained destinies.
©️Mela Daberechi (Teens Mentor)