LOH #148: SHOULDERING THE BURDEN OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY

Just as my topic states for the ladies of hive contest shouldering the burden of immediate family responsibility can affect a man both negatively or positively depending on the background or culture involved.

1️⃣ Nowadays, some parents pass on to their kids the family responsibility after they graduate from school. As a parent, do you agree with this, or will you allow your kids to shoulder burdens that are not supposed to be theirs? As a child, is it necessary for you to pay back your parents' laborious efforts even though it means you have to sacrifice your freedom?

I am not a parent yet but I have experience with children of parents who have placed 'burden' not responsibility on their grown children. Yes, I call it burden because it feels like when the parents have done all they can to support the first child or the only male child of the family, they sweep off their hands off the financial affairs of the home. Then the child has to cater for his immediate family that has 6children minus the father and the mother, then he has to do with his personal responsibilities which includes his family with children. Then extended family members and friends.

The drill goes thus, a poor family fights so hard to train a particular member of the family they sit him down and explains to him that other children in the family will drop out of School because of him so that he can further through primary, secondary and university. Then at the end he is to find a good job which would in turn send the other children of the family back to school, provide for the family in terms of food stuffs and finances.

As a prospective parent, this is not a good case to do, however, people that engage in the practice had viable reasons no doubt but it is burdensome to just one member of the family. The thing parents do not know is that although they birth the children, they do not have overall control over the choice they make for their lives at certain points. We are supposed to be their guardians who would lead them through life.

Even if you train up one or two children from amongst 7 children, of they learnt good morals, family values and ethics, taking care of their brothers and sisters would be a thing from their hearts that should not be forced. They would do this so easily and place family as top priority.

For me, I do not subscribe to that mentality that is why I work so hard to earn a decent living. I intend to have kids within my financial earnings. In this time and age, I am already aware of the fact that I cannot sustain 7 children to the best of my ability by giving them quality education, good life, good home and so on. So I stick to what I can manage.

No doubt, that parent placing full responsibility on their child is very common in this side of the country. I know of a person who shouldered the responsibility but due to incessant demands for money he died of heart attack. Just to meet up he was always in debt from loan sharks, and so on. I believe it won't be a bad idea if the responsibility is shared amongst the family.

Finally, as a child from a wonderful family, I do not have to pay back my parents in every bit they spent for me but as they say "the little things matter", I can just spring up and take care of pending bills, buy necessary things that are needed in the house, buzz their accounts once a while. The kind of prayers I get from them for doing is is so immeasurable.

In all, different strokes are applicable for different folk.