If you asked an African child how they know that they are loved, more than 90% will say that they took care of them to their level best regardless of the socio-economic status. However, is it not the responsibility of a parent to take care of their children?
Many African parents mistake responsibility of love and the same is passed down from generation to generation. Looking at western nations, a day rarely passes without a parent uttering words such as “I love you son/daughter,” how was your day? I am proud of you. This is often coupled up with undivided attention. However, some might argue that actions speak louder than words, however, this is not a case to a parent-child relationship.
Human beings are social beings and thus tend to value social interactions more than material things and this is even more intense when it comes to children.
Psychological studies have identified the core things that children need above all. Some of these things are love, security, emotional support and good role models. In all these, African parents fail a lot to provide.
Majority of African parents work tirelessly to provide their children with basic needs and in this way assume that their children will feel loved. On the contrary, African children rarely experience love and tend to seek for love elsewhere.
If want to know the importance of Parent-child relationship, consider reading this article:
I believe that it is the lack of love and affection from home that makes many Africans admire the western culture. We Africans are rarely contended with what we have and that is the core reason for the increase in westernization tendencies in Africa.
