Dear elders, we, the young, have been watching, listening, and reflecting, on the lives you live, the words you speak, the actions you take, and most importantly, the legacy you are leaving behind. And, today, we are asking: If we opened our hearts and spoke our minds, would you listen to us? Would you listen, to understand, or merely to react and respond? ALSO READ: Absent parenting: The hidden toll on children's well-being You sometimes call us lazy, rebellious, and unmannered. You say we are smokers, drinkers, and lost souls with no direction. But before the accusations go on, please, take a moment and reflect. Did we invent any of these behaviours? Are we simply a product of our own doing, or are we learning from the best? Are we being led by example? ALSO READ: Men must not delegate their parenting duties, not in this century! Do you practice what you teach, or do you live by the saying, Do as I say, not as I do? Perhaps, as you read this, your daughter is pregnant, and your heart is heavy with anger and disappointment. I am truly sorry. I feel your pain. But think about this. ALSO READ: Raising children in the modern world If she is 19 years old, ask yourself this question. Is the man who impregnated her a 19-year-old boy, too? Or is there a chance, maybe, a very high chance, that he is older? Perhaps he is among your peers, colleagues, or neighbours. One of your friends might be dating someone else's daughter while his son is too broke to afford a proper conversation with her. Do you see what your generation is doing to ours? Mothers are dating boys their sons’ age, offering them more support, gifts, and attention than they give to their own children. And you think we don’t know? You gather in churches, meetings, and community halls to discuss the youth crisis like unplanned pregnancies, drug abuse, and moral decay. But some of you, even as you speak, are texting young girls and scheduling secret meetings in bars and hotels, contributing to the very problem you're complaining about. You judge us based on our dreadlocks and tattoos. You reject us because of our fashion and our slangs. You block our opportunities and replace us with young people you’re having affairs with. And in our schools, some of us do not lose out because we lack merit but because others have learned to trade more than knowledge to get ahead. How do we compete with corruption when qualifications are bought, not earned? We are left with tears, deception, depression, and no vision. And, as Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The sad truth is, a confused generation is now raising a miserable one. Parenting is not just about bringing children into this world or paying bills. It is about trust, friendship, inspiration, and presence. Why is it that so few parents are on their children's list of role models? A home is not a farm. Children are not animals. And parenting is not about control but connection. So, please stop giving only orders and start building bonds. Stop just punishing and start inspiring. Children are meant to be valued, consulted, understood, and considered. You tell us to obey the rules but break them the moment no one is watching. You say, “Don’t lie,” yet only buckle your seat belts when the police are nearby. You preach integrity, but some of you are in the news for stealing from your workplaces then go home and beat your children for stealing sugar. You say character counts, but we are watching the contradictions pile up. You tell us not to fall into peer pressure yet pressure us into weddings and marriages we can’t afford or are not ready for, just to impress friends you haven’t spoken to in years. We end up spending what we don’t have, to do what we don’t need, to impress people who don’t care about. We start our marriages in debt but decorated with fancy photos and unpaid bills. Please hear me out! I am not blaming, or judging. I am raising a point for discussion and reflection. Yes, we have our faults. But many of these faults are not the problem. They are symptoms of a deeper issue. So, let us meet and talk, in all honesty. Let us sit around a table, or a fire, and speak freely. Let us seek to understand, not to win an argument. Until we decide to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, we will die without seeing the change we all crave. Remember, you are your world. Your family is your world. So is your community, and country. Change begins with the individual. If each one of us commits to becoming better, the world will become better too.
