Positive Parenting

  By Dickson Tumuramye Many African parents were raised to believe that a parent must always be right. Apologising to a child can therefore feel like surrendering authority. Some fathers, in particular, fear that saying “I am sorry” will make their children disrespect them or weaken their headship. But what if the opposite is true? A parent who cannot admit being wrong may command obedience but may struggle to earn genuine respect. Children do not need perfect parents. They need parents who model humility, accountability, and healthy relationships. Authority does not require perfection Being a parent means having authority, but authority does not mean never making mistakes. Parents lose their temper, make unfair judgments, misunderstand situations, break promises, and sometimes discipline children without hearing the whole story. The dangerous response is to defend the mistake simply because we are the parents. When a father tells his child, “I was wrong to shout at you. I should h...

  By Dickson Tumuramye The school fees may be paid, the suitcase may be ready, and the uniform may be neatly packed. But before you send your child back to school, ask yourself one important question: Is my child really ready to go back? For parents, these final days can easily become a checklist of uniforms, books, shoes, toiletries, transport and fees. Those things matter. But there is another form of preparation that may matter even more , and that is preparing the child emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally for the term ahead. Third Term deserves particular attention because it is the promotional term and has final exams for candidate classes . For many learners, it is the final opportunity in the academic year to consolidate what they have learnt, improve weaknesses and demonstrate that they are ready for the next level. So, before the child leaves home, have a meaningful conversation. “How are you feeling about going back?” Do not assume that your child is excit...

  By Dickson Tumuramye Many parents want their children to have a better life than they had during their early years. They provide good schools, comfortable homes, reliable transport, meals, clothing, and protection from hardship. These are meaningful expressions of care. But provision can quietly become overprotection. A parent may begin answering every call, explaining every mistake, replacing every lost item, and negotiating away every consequence. Before long, the child is surrounded by support but has little experience managing life independently. That is where good parenting can become counterproductive. Comfort is not the same as preparation Children do not become capable simply because they are loved, educated or well provided for. They become capable through practice. They need opportunities to organise their belongings, complete tasks, manage time, handle money, solve ordinary problems and recover from mistakes. If adults constantly step in, children may grow accu...

By Dickson Tumuramye For many families, school holidays are a precious opportunity to have children back home. Parents get to hear their stories, share meals, play together, and reconnect after a demanding term. Yes, having children at home can sometimes be stressful, especially for working parents. But that does not make the holiday unnecessary. A school holiday is part of a child’s education, not a wasted period. Yet across Uganda, some schools continue teaching, coaching and organising academic programmes during holidays, particularly for upper classes and candidates. This practice must stop. Some schools began their holidays last week, while the current school term officially ends on August 21. A holiday is not a luxury Children need time away from classrooms to rest physically, mentally, and emotionally. They need unstructured play, family interaction, sleep, recreation, chores and opportunities to explore interests outside textbooks. When every holiday becomes another classroom, ...

By Dickson Tumuramye Recently, I heard a woman share an experience that left me thinking deeply about parenting perceptions. She had married into a family from a different culture. In her home, kneeling was compulsory as a sign of respect. However, when she got married, her new family told her not to worry because that was not part of their culture. Years later, as her daughters grew older, she began teaching them some of the customs she had learnt while growing up. Her reason was simple yet profound: “I do not know where my daughters will get married.” She realised that parenting was no longer about preparing children only for the family they were born into, but also for the families, communities and cultures they might one day join. Her story raises a question every parent should ask: Will my parenting still make sense twenty years from now? The world has changed Many of us are raising children the way we were raised. While our parents did their best, today's world is r...

25.07.2026 threatened to be a good day. For the better part of it, it was. My dear cousins, Davis and Annet, came by to see my ailing mother, and it was an emotive yet sweet time. If I have ever seen love personified, it was in the version shared between my mother and Aunt Hope, whom she fondly called Muramukazi—that is, sister-in-law. For more than ten years now, my mother's health has been a roller coaster. She always told Aunt Hope that she was at peace knowing that if she went to be with the Lord, Aunt Hope would be by my side—not only to comfort me, but also to eulogize her. That, however, was not God's script. A year ago, Aunt Hope departed from this world. Perhaps one day we will recover from that loss. For now, we continue to bandage the wounds it caused. Davis mentioned that I looked stressed. I could not deny it. I told him it was true; the past month had been one of the hardest seasons of my life. Every day felt like the ugly claws of death were menacingly taunting m...