Positive Parenting

By Dickson Tumuramye It is well known that some people don’t prepare enough for retirement. They work so hard and give it all to their employers and businesses. Some people never even have time to go on leave or days - off. Even when they are given their 30 days’ leave, they prefer to remain in the office working. Some people work from Monday to Sunday throughout the year, with no days to rest. There is little time given to their families. They claim to be investing their children in material things, but hardly do they think of investing in their children. Parenting is a holistic process that needs your total availability in all aspects of life. The children you are claiming to be investing for today without being in their lives will grow up and have no time for you because there was no relationship with them. They only know you as their daddy / mummy who was too busy working for them. They may always remember to send you money in your old days, but you will never sit together around ...

By Dickson Tumuramye Our children are going back to school amidst the economic crisis in Uganda. The prices of some commodities are so high. What you could have projected as children are going back to school next week may have been grossly affected by changing prices now and then. We have also just finished the Easter festive celebrations. You may not be in a position to provide all the necessities as has been the case before. This somehow is causing some sleepless nights. Maybe you don't even have enough school fees to pay at school on the reporting day. This is not time to be under too much pressure. The situation you are in now may happen tomorrow yet life has to go on, children must report back to school. School fees and scholastic needs can never be an emergency because we always know the schedule of when they go back to school in a year. But planning and fulfilling what is expected may never be easy. So how do you go about it? Sit with your children If you feel you are not in...

By Dickson Tumuramye During the two years of COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in Uganda, the rate of teenage pregnancies was alarmingly high. These teenage girls were staying home with their parents, siblings, and relatives where one would expect them to be safe but this was not the case.  I recently met two mothers narrating a touching story of a 12-year-old daughter in Primary six who was engaged in lesbianism at school and the mother was devasted by the news. This girl comes from a strong Christian family.  The girl told the mother that she even does it at home with her young sister. She learned this at school and she was also training others. It is now not news that our children as young as 10 years old are being initiated into homosexuality and lesbianism. Some of these cases happen in schools without the school administration’s knowledge. The parents also cannot believe their children are involved in any early sexual behaviors. When you interact with children who...

  By Dickson Tumuramye The two years of staying with children at home were not so easy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many children had literally dropped out of school, they had forgotten about studies and had now adapted to home life. It was not until the beginning of this year that the government officially opened the economy and all schools were fully opened, and children reported back to school. I remember when we were taking our children back to school, there was a lot of excitement because they were looking forward to that opportunity. But after a few weeks, the moods were different, some started complaining about how teachers are rude to them, they were not caring, the meals were not delicious, not enough, and they were being bullied by other pupils. Along the way, flu and cough became other challenges and we were in and out of hospitals. Therefore, some missed going to school for some days. It has not been an easy term for children to cope with the post-COVID-19 pand...

By Dickson Tumuramye Some Christians have been in lent season, a time of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter Sunday. Easter is a festival in which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. It is such a short break that Christians utilize to celebrate such great commemoration. Unlike Christmas break which lasts for more days with a lot of merry-making and family engagements, Easter break lasts for only 3 days and it may end without your notice. However, Easter should be the most celebrated day more than Christmas because it marks the beginning of Christianity, especially after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and it gives a strong foundation for our faith. The bible says that Änd if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless (1Corinthians 15:14). Therefore, we need to help our children understand what Easter is, why we celebrate it and they should not be left hom...

By Dickson Tumuramye Until the recent past, parenting was not as complicated as it is now in the 21 st  century. Before all children were looked at as community children and there was collective responsibility in raising children. Families used to live in extended settings compared to today’s unitary/individualized settings. In some families, parents had time to sit with their children around a table or fire and they would share stories, riddles, songs, etc. This did not only help children to learn how to express themselves but also families would have enough time to be together, discuss family issues and parents would pass on any information that seemed crucial to their children. Where I grew up, we used to share a meal on the same tray or from the same basket (for karo). In so doing, parents were able to identify with their children and establish a relationship together. This is no longer the case today. Nowadays, there is no longer collective responsibility in child upbringing...

By Dickson Tumuramye If there is anything hard in a marriage that a couple wished never happened to them in their relationship are death and divorce. By the time you think about marrying this partner, you have convinced yourself that this is the right person. But along the way sometimes things change and inevitable circumstances happen to tear you apart. It is a very painful moment and the most affected in this whole saga are children. The child’s hero in life and source of safety and sense of love are the parents. When marriage is on the verge of break-up, children are always entangled in the unresolved conflicts between Dad and Mummy, and most of the time they are very innocent and this affects them emotionally. Most couples never let their children know why they are divorcing. Others like to victimize the other party to show children that they are innocent but the other person is the one wrong. A few couples sit down with their children to share with them why they have decided to ...