Over the last two years, Agnes Nakibuuka was the stereotypical parent of two teenagers (now aged 13 and 15), always fretting the holidays.
She worried what her two daughters got up to during the holidays, although she planned for three square meals a day and plenty of entertainment (in the form of television), in the hope that this would draw them away from the ill influence of some peer groups.
You don’t need to be a social scientist to know that a parent is virtually paralysed with fear – at the thought that their children have nothing constructive for weeks – zig-zaging around the house, watching television for hours on end. Most will tell you there is so much that can go wrong, even then.
But this holiday is different. Nakibuuka is spending time with her daughters in her shop. “My assistant asked to leave and instead of hiring someone else, I have brought my daughters in, on the advice of their father,” she says.
Nakibuuka is hoping that the girls will learn a lot more than what they receive from school – with regard to earning a living, and life in general. And two weeks into the holiday, Nakibuuka is beginning to see the benefits. As they spend more time together, they are beginning to appreciate the closeness.
“They get to tell me things that I didn’t know they had noticed … but also I get to understand that they are growing into adults,” she says.
Nakibuuka says she is now convinced that children learn as they go through life and wouldn’t change the holiday experience one bit. She believes the closeness will help her fashion her daughters into decent adults.
“The long school holidays are meant to give parents an opportunity to connect with their children and teach them what they have always missed in their early childhood.”
And so we hope more parents will learn from Nakibuuka’s experiences.
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