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Tasha my daughter — who is in Pre-Unit — has closed school for the April holidays. If you are a parent you can relate to my experience. I am struggling to keep her constructively engaged like the school does.
The moment I just step out of the door she wants to watch cartoons and all manner of kiddo programmes. That is not how I want her to spend her entire holiday.
As I always say, teachers do a lot for us parents. They keep our kids constructively engaged for a cool 12 weeks in a term.
When your child is in school, you are sure she is safe and the teachers are impacting on her knowledge and life skills.
This gives you a peace of mind and you can confidently give 100 per cent to your employer or your company if you are your own boss.
But when schools close, it means the child is in the house with the house help engaging in brain killing activities (read watching cartoons, Naija movies and explicit music videos). As a parent, when you are at work you have to keep calling to check on what the minor is up to.
“Hey Mwende, what is Tasha doing? Has she read her story book? What has she eaten? Has she slept? Is she in the house?” these are some of the inquiries you make every so often just to keep the house girl on her toes and discourage her from engaging in mischief with baby girl.
In these days of kidnappings, most parents prefer their kids to stay indoors, unless you live in a well-secured gated community where security is top notch. So there is no question of going out.
I wish there was a programme of engaging school going kids during the holidays like it happens in the West.
In the US, there is an initiative called summer programme for primary school kids. This is how it works.
The initiative, which is undertaken by universities at the lush and expansive campus grounds, engages the children in fun games like football, tennis, swimming, piano or drama depending on the child’s preference.
Parents drop their kids to campus at around 9 in the morning and the university keeps them well engaged and fed up to 4 in the evening.
By the time parents come to collect the younglins in the evening, they are tired and dying to head to a cozy bed.
I wish there were such progressive holiday programmes in Kenya.
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