What sort of parent are you who looks on as your kid smokes marijuana?

Bits of ME

“My son was caught smoking marijuana at school but I made the indefinite suspension disappear?”, the light-skinned grey haired plus-sized man flatteringly raised his voice in a seemingly satisfying manner as he shared with his bunch of friends.

“His peers were not as lucky…their parents didn’t know how to sidestep so called school rules…it was nothing though…the boys were just experimenting…my kid said it was just that …”, he continued on braggingly and irritatingly laughing off the evil like the two-faced joker in the movie Dark Knight.

My friends and I were seated listening in awe of this shameless man as our conversation wandered around-how easily it can be for a parent to spoil their child.

We deliberated but also not closeting off the sickening administrative systems right at the grassroots that allow us to continuously guard our kids against punishment.

This era of “I don’t want my child to go through the same strict rules and regulations I was subjected to as a child" has many parents blindsided.

I was even taken aback after reading Carol Kasujja's news report on the recent National drug Authority (NDA) survey that revealed that many children in schools take drugs and they start as young as 11.

If you thought, this bit was just an isolated case, the  NDA data showed alcohol topping the list of drugs abused by students at 77.7 percent, followed by Kuber at 34 percent, cigarettes (29.5) shisha (21.4), Marijuana (17.9), Kaht (17.0), Murah (8.0), Cocaine (6.3), and then Murah and Miraj”.

Some of these drugs I've personally never heard about but research shows by the age of 25, eight in 10 students said they have ever taken some of these drugs.

What stood out for me amongst the many  causes of children abusing drugs was the lack of strict set rules and regulations.

The dos and don’ts  must nurture children into learning the limitations in life that are reminders of what is good and bad.

Otherwise, how do you expect your child to abide by the rules and regulations at school if there are none at home?

Or even worse if you relish in breaking them to protect your brood?

. Bits of YOU

“…I need to know if this school is a prison? How can I be denied from taking my child at home for the weekend? I should be able to do so whenever I want”, read a text from a WhatsApp group of one of the schools in Wakiso district (name withheld). It was posted by an overly disgruntled parent.

“I needed to spend the weekend with my kid, but the D.O.S has impeded my plans…”she continued, “twazza musango abaana baffe okubateka mu boardingi? (did we commit a crime to enrol our children into boarding school?) We need to stand up to this school”, she beckoned other parents to support her.

Earlier while at the school premises, she’d caused mayhem, left the child throwing tantrums and swearing how her mother would do whatever it took to take her home every weekend!

“Totukoya,” loosely translated to "don’t waste our time" one of the parents responded questioningly, “if you wanted to spend time with your child every weekend then you picked the wrong school, what do the rules and regulations say?”

In utter dismay, the woman had retaliated, “…rules are meant to be broken..” awakening an eruption from a silent majority on the group reigning terror on this parade.

“Rules are meant to be broken” a statement that must not be made by a parent for what will be left of parenting if words often spoken by a spoiled child begin oozing out of the parent's mouth?

Children are mirrors of what the elders do and are bound to imitate and unfortunately turn out even worse.

This evil which uplifts disregard for rules is what builds bullies in schools and in other settings resulting into deeper ills like theft, corruption, violence and all sorts of crime.

How then do you expect your child to abide by anything if the example you demonstrate is far from what you ought to teach your children?

We must be the first role models to our children before anybody else evokes an inspiration that pulls them to any kind of admiration.

Respect for rules stems from virtues that push away our restraints from abusing that which straightens our morals.

May we draw our children into meaningful conversations during this time before they head back to school to follow the rules and regulations as we do right by them too.