Teach your children hard work not get-rich-quick schemes

I recently read a piece about parenting going wrong in the new generation and it got me thinking.

I agreed with the writer when he gave an example of studying in Europe and how students generally operate there. I know Europe and Africa are different but if we could copy some of their cultures, especially in matters to do with hard work, we could improve our parenting skills and have children who believe in hard work.

This will stop the attitude of getting rich quickly, which will also help fight corruption.

Take for example, in first-world countries, despite how wealthy your family is, one does holiday or weekend jobs to support themselves and start the culture of learning how to persevere in a work environment.

The writer gave the example of Richard Branson and how his children travel in economy class and that only he and his wife fly first class. The reason is to make the children realise they have to work for their own money and not assume their parents’ money is theirs.

In this part of the world, most kids are lazy and don’t want to work. They depend on the wealth of their parents to make it in life. If you check some of the few families where the children have managed to increase the wealth of their parents it is because they were taught the value of working.

I have always given the example of how Indians in Kenya introduce their children to the family business when they are on holiday or on weekends. This behaviour has become the usual trend instilled in children and generations carry it forward.

The good thing with it is that it makes them understand how to work for their money. This will stop the get-rich-quick mentality which has made our children become criminals or get involved in activities frowned upon by the community to make money.

Look at the young men who are good at IT. When they qualify they expect a six-figure salary. When they realise that is a fantasy most become swindlers and bank frauds instead of working hard and making an honest living. Another example is how young women today believe the only way to make it in life is to be involved with a rich man.

What they don’t realise is that it is not permanent and when the rich men move on our girls are left to do crimes, enter the nudity world, or prostitution to maintain their status.

Nowadays, the crimes of gold scamming and “wash wash” have become common. Many young people who have been employed for only a few years are involved in corruption with the goal of making quick money. They don’t want to toil for years to achieve their dreams.

Unlike in our days when we used to walk around with brown envelopes carrying our papers, looking for jobs, the new generation knows nothing of the sort.

Though technology has made it easier, it has also made them lazy and made them think they are entitled. Someone asks you to get them a job, you contact all your sources and the first thing they ask is, “What is the salary?”

Unlike back in the day, today everyone has a degree. It is all about how smart, hardworking and amount of patience and perseverance.

We need to make our kids learn how to work. They can start with doing house chores. Make them make their beds, or clear the table, and give them an allowance. Hard work doesn't kill anyone.