Strains on the Modern Family Who is the caregiver in your home? Who’s your child watching? Who picks up your child from school?Who mentors your child while you are trying to scrape a living? I witnessed a scene that left me disturbed. A child with closely cropped hair, clad in a faded-out “Adjoa Yankey” frock, wielded a stick to corral about 6 other kindergartners on a residential asphalt road. She administered licks from the stick without provocation! I was livid. I stopped and bellowed at her, “Hey you, what do you think you are doing?” But she continued flogging, casting a malevolent look at me, as if to say, “Dzi wofie asem” - “This does not concern you.” Open-mouthed, I watched her retreating small frame! Scary! Saddened! And befuddled? Both parents work outside the home to provide for their children, placing enormous responsibilities on them. Choosing between staying at home to care for their siblings and going to work is not a matter of choice anymore; it’s a necessity! But how many can afford this luxury? How can we give our best at work when the future generation faces such peril? Current caregivers are video games, TVs, and house helps, often excreted out of hell! Another time, I saw a school bus driver stop in front of a convenience store and promptly fall asleep. Seven teenage girls bounded out. Three went to the store; one peed in front, and the rest engaged with unsavory characters. As mothers, if we’re not careful, we’ll clutch our stretch-marked tummies and weep. And fathers, neglecting your role in the home, don’t blame women. As a community, if we don’t become each other’s keepers, we’ll wail inconsolably in the future, facing devastating ripple effects. Let’s advocate for daycare facilities at or near workplaces. Let’s examine a shift system where one parent is always on “standby.” And may God be our help Kofi, Abena and Yaa The Birthday Journal 33
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTAyMTM3NQ==