I HATE KIDS!!!

I hate kids!That is a sentiment shared by some people I have encountered. I find it a little strange that anyone would feel this way about children. To me, children are the most amazing things ever. When I’m around a child, I feel like a child. If anything makes me smile I can bet it’s a child. I honestly don’t know why I enjoy children that much but I don’t think a reason is necessary. So why do some people “hate” kids.

I once asked someone why she felt that way about kids, after all, I said, you were once a child too right? Her response was, “yes and I don’t know how and why my parents did it” I don’t know how many people out there will have the same response when asked, few I hope but it’s rather sad. I find it incredibly hard to listen to people talk about children like commodities or little investments that must yield returns. In Ghana when you have a child, it’s your responsibility to raise them. Usually, the impetus to do that isn’t primarily so that the child can grow up and take care of the parent but rather that you had been entrusted with a blessing and it was your responsibility to do it. That truth is that often Children would grow up and take care of their parents, however, that is just an added benefit not an incredible expectation since some children grow and don’t take care of their parents.

The culture here is a little different and children innocent as they are and should be often have more responsibility than they are aware of. The financial responsibility of taking care of a child and raising it isn’t just a joyful act of parenthood but rather a well calculated investment for the future. Perhaps, I mustn’t be the judge of this and perhaps this is how it has worked for this society but it breaks my heart to see the joy of parenthood removed and replaced with the pressures of a successful investment.

Perhaps that is why some parents get so devastated and angry at themselves when they feel their child hasn’t achieved what they desire or hasn’t been successful. I guess I can see why people will say they hate kids. Especially when the sheer opportunity to be a parent is no longer there and it has been replaced with the pressures of succeeding at raising a successful child. I would be repulsed too if I not only had to worry about my own success but also the success of my child too.

The way I see it though, commodities or not kids are an amazing blessing that can never go wrong. When God blesses you with one you need to work on letting that blessing work in your life. We can never place all our hopes and dreams on any human being because that is too much pressure on any one person, but we can give them what we know to be spiritually sound and humanly pleasant. We may all not like all things but each one of us will respond favorably to LOVE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS and SACRIFICE and do it all as much as you can without any expectations.

I know it has been a while but man has been busy. I promise to write weekly though because I am taking a more organized approach to things