Prince Nico Mbarga, the artist who sang the original iconic sweet mother song that dominated the air during Mother's Day celebration. Our parents happen to be one of the most precious things that we have. Unlike most animals, human babies are born completely helpless and dependent on their parents for practically everything besides breathing.
At birth, we can't locate food because we can not move about, sit, or stand. Some of us will be blind for a few days, and without care from our parents, surviving will be totally impossible. Such vulnerability emphasises the importance of caring parents in our lives.

How do parents influence our lives?

Parents continue to play a significant role long after infancy past adolescence, and in the case of the African setting, parenting continues to the end of their lives.

From infancy till we become toddlers, our parents provide a lot of emotional support in the love and care they abundantly provide in the way they nurture us. Helping us take our first steps as toddlers, they guide us, offering loving direction and advice.

As we grow up, our parents influence all our values and beliefs. They are our first role models, teaching us moral lessons through their words and actions. They are the bedrock of our moral principles and ethics.
Our first and most important education comes from our parents, who support and facilitate our journey through circular education and skill acquisition, identifying and grooming our talents and, developing our self-esteem, influencing our confidence. Our parents shape the way we see the world and who we become.

What are the responsibilities and duties of parenthood?

Parents have this huge responsibility to care for the basic needs of their child, they are expected to provide good food and nutrition while keeping these precious ones safe in a comfortable shelter with clothing and basic hygiene.
Alongside the physical needs, parents also provide emotional support in the form of love and care in both little things and big things.
Children need guidance, direction and discipline, so parents set boundaries and teach them life skills which are part of their education.
A child's safety, both inside and outside the home is an important part of the parents responsibility. At some point, parents protect us from ourselves.

How should we behave towards parents?

We could start by showing our parents a real healthy dose of respect, gratitude, and care towards our parents for the sacrifices they have had to make.
They are always older and wiser, so we have to respectfully listen to them when they express their opinions and experiences. Always showing our appreciation by expressing gratitude in our words and action.
You can do these by being considerate of their feelings and needs. Offering them your support by assisting with tasks and responsibilities. Just make yourself available and let them really feel you care about them.

How has the role of parents changed in today's society?

Parenting has passed through some significant metamorphosis, which has greatly altered the roles and rules of parenting beyound recognition.
I grew up when parenting was the position of an Authoritarian ruler. It was built on the fact that children are children, they don't know enough to make any useful decisions for themselves. So our parents had to tell us what we were to do, when to do it and how to do it. You will have to do as told till they trust you can start making small decisions about non-essential matters. We still loved our parents.
Today, parents are too concerned about gaining their children's love to the point where they avoid corrective discipline, giving children the opportunity to make decisions without enough knowledge, experience or the ability to shoulder the consequences of such choices.

It was agreed that parenting was not limited to one's biological father and mother. Grandparents, relatives, neighbours, friend's and the whole community worked towards training the children. Kids could not say, "You are not my father". Yes, even when it's not your parents, they could whoop you when you mess up, anyway, anytime. So you better behave all the time.

Mothers were always the primary trainers; they were around all the time, and fathers only provided the go-ahead and would be called in when our correction was beyond the mother's office, and that was scary. It helped us know that authority is in levels and that sins and mischief have categories. Today's fathers are increasingly involved in the training of children. Though most are so soft that the kids are now dictating what should be done as if it were a democracy. But consequences are not interested; someone must pay for what was or was not done.

Peer pressured into wanting to be viewed as modern parents, and living in a society where rights are over-emphasised to our own detriment, and everyone is striving for political correctness.
Women feel they can independently train their children as single mothers. With the introduction of diverse family structures, including same-sex parenting, co-parenting, and blended families.
With these changes, the definition and role of parenting have changed.

Conclusion and Invitation

A lot of mixups have been introduced, and there are no clear definitions, so if you have children under your care, give them all the love, protection and care they need. Provide loving discipline and education that is age-appropriate. And once you grow up, love and care for those who cared for you.

I would love to invite the following to participate in this contest: @ninapenda, @okere-blessing and @bela90

Media Credit

Composer	@manuelhooks
Graphics from	pixabay.com
Entry type	Contest participation
Organizer	@afrinn
Date	Fri.. 16th May
	(@) 2025