By Ikiriza Nahurira
Growing up in this generation differs from how our parents grew up.
Although most things are the same, there are some profound changes that came with an era of technology and development that have affected us growing up that our parents may not understand.
We have problems that we fear talking about to our parents for fear of judgment and conflict.
We struggle with different kinds of addictions, anxiety, and insecurities, in addition to trying to make them happy and struggling for our future.
We would love to have an ear to listen to all this and get some guidance without condemnation. We wish they could understand and get us some help like therapy or rehabilitation where necessary.
Although most of the time we don’t show it, we really appreciate all that our parents have done for us.
We know the struggle they go through to fulfill their responsibilities towards us and it breaks us when we see them disappointed. Each day is a new struggle for us to put a smile on their faces.
What they should know
We hate comparison. It hurts when our parent compare their challenges when growing up with ours.
We wish they would understand that these are different generations.
We understand they also had a hard time growing up but since then, the world has developed and changed.
It also hurts to compare us with other children of our age. We are totally different and so we are not expected to be exactly like others.
Do not put some topics off-limits. We wish we were able to comfortably talk to our parents about everything including alcohol, drugs, sex, relationships, and mental health among others.
It is easy for us to experience risky behavior but it is safer if we know it is okay to talk to parents for guidance.
We understand the need to scold us or call us out on our mistakes, but constantly using negative words lowers our self-esteem and we feel like total losses in the world.
It becomes hard to keep motivated and eager to struggle for our future with such low self-esteem.
Every conversation doesn’t have to turn into a moral lecture. We wish we had the comfort to tell our parents stories about our daily experiences without fearing that we would be up for long hours of “Ted Talk”.
This makes us hesitate to talk about what is happening in our daily lives.
Treat sons and daughters equally. It is not fair to give freedom to boy children and keep girls around the home to do house chores.
Boys, just like girls need to learn house chores because these are life skills that everyone must know, regardless of their gender.
It is not intentional for children to fail. We do not intend to fail in life.
Parents should know that we try so hard to excel in life. We wish our parents and guardians would understand and help us instead of scolding and judging us harshly.
The writer is a student at Rukungiri Technical Institute- Kyamakanda
Contact: nahuriraikiriza@gmail.com / 0707195474
