I saw this phrase in a book recently and it got me thinking.
I look back at my childhood years with amazement. The conduct of mine and in fact most parents those days is so different to what is obtainable today. The same is true for the relationship between parents and children comparing those days to the present day. Parents were more feared than respected. Parents were like gods whereas they are now friends.
A simple example is birthday parties. When I was a child, children's parties were for CHILDREN. The parties in my household were in fact left to my mum and us, my dad was never present. We invited our friends who's mums dropped them off and came back at an agreed time to pick them up. All attention was on the children - making sure we had all the fun.
These days however, it is a very different scenario. It is a child's first birthday and all the friends and acquaintances of the parents are invited whether or not they have children to bring along. The ratio is probably 500 adults to 100 children! The parents have as much (maybe more) fun as the children. They dress up to the nines and come out and socialize with their friends.
Growing up, I never saw my dad wear anything but a formal suit or traditional outfits oh and of course for dress down days, the occasional French suit (remember them? I've never seen anything quite so funny!) And as for my mum, dressing down meant the traditional Iro and buba!
These days though, parents are so fly! They know all the 'in' things, the 'must haves'. They are up to date with fashion, music, technology, you name it.....they have fun with their kids. I attended a PTA meeting once in a Lagos secondary school and I remember thinking "hmmm....these mums sure look good!" There's no way you could find mums looking like that in my school's PTA.
I often find myself having to consciously calculate my age (lol) and constantly experience surprise at the result. A few of my friends also have admitted same. So is sixty really the new forty?
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