Former First Lady of the United States Lady Bird Johnson once said: "Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
Her words came knocking on my head as I reflected on the sad truth of how most parents generally don't support their children's talents and dreams.
In our villages and kasis, parents hardly make time to watch their children participate in school debate competitions even when they are invited.
Children who were skilful in sport never had the opportunity to display their talents in front of their own parents because they were nowhere to be seen.
Young poets, actors and other arts performers always display their craft in front of foreign crowds and not their parents. Why?
Because parents usually don't see the need to put their chores and activities on hold to support their children's dreams and talents.
What adds salt to the wound is that they are not even too busy to attend, they just don't want to.
There are many dreams that ended up in graves and there are many talented souls that are languishing in jail or at home because they never received any parental support in their endeavours.
May we be a generation of parents that puts children's abilities first. It is funny that we worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we choose to forget that they are someone today.
Let's show them support and help them move mountains.
- Malphia Honwane
Gottenburg, eManyeleti
