Why Your Children Are Drinking More Than You
Once you set off for work either kilometer away or even just within fair proximity to your home, always keep this in mind, the alcohol den will be open in a few hours, probably before you take your office breakfast. You might argue that this is not what the government approves, but these bar owners and bartenders don’t acknowledge that and money is more important than your son’s or daughter’s life and future.
Many class eight, form four and university leavers are currently at home and business is not as usual because no one is ringing a bell or an alarm for classes to begin. This means that this is a new life they have to forge all over again, after years of being in the system. A new life that needs everyday planning but then you realize you can only plan so much without a job or activity to attend to in replacement of classes. Other kids are however sharper than others and so ideas will never lack.
Over the December holiday through to the new year celebrations, I happen to have encountered a good number of school leavers within estates and urban areas. One, they stay in crowds engaging in stories mostly life experiences, newest devices in town, best looks to rock and even who they are currently seeing. Stories then fade away and boredom is kicking in, one of them remembers that lady Shiro, who sells fresh Keg from 10 in the AM. A few coins are then collected to finance enough booze for all of them and this mark you, is the allowance you left for lunch and dinner and off they go to Shiro’s hidden den to have one or two as they engage in more stories.
Amid indulging, these kids are sure to answer each call of yours and sound as sober as they can, to avoid any suspicion from their parents. Drinking in silence, Shiro gives a pass for not only cigarettes to be smoked, but for bhang too to burn. Young ladies start rolling in in twos, threes probably after an invitation by the boys who shrug they will pay and the drink is on. Most of them drink until the afternoon in the presence of older revelers who ask no questions but instead ask one Kimani of house number 665 to sponsor a cup or two because the dad is a known tycoon. Drinking will hardly end in these dens, some may opt to take it home where they listen to full-blown music and indulge in misbehavior.
Many parents today sit in the office unknowing of such activity going on, and if asked, they will say it is not their fault, and times are hard and bills need to be paid. However, what is the need for working so hard to pay bills for a zombie? Why are you living with a functional drunkard unknowingly? By the time you get back home, your child is either blacked out or a bit sober from the drinking spree and unfortunately, nothing will raise alarm to you. Instead, it is thought the kid is tired from house chores. These kids even have deals with the neighbors’ house helps who are paid to clean up your house with the money you give them, just to allow them time for a smoking and drinking spree.
Whether it is the lack of jobs, school to go to, that does not warrant a lack of control in the activities they indulge in. Some children in these groups want to get a job at a carwash, restaurant, construction site amongst other unskilled employments but their parents won’t allow then in the name of saving face. Rigid parents who hold their children from simple courses in the meantime because they’re only meant to enroll in an engineering class are slowly losing their children to alcohol and drugs for not paying attention.
Lack of unplanned activities for these children also leads to frustration hence resulting in intense activities such as drinking sprees and immature sex to replace boredom. Two things: Exposure to Exposing them to the internet through expensive internet packages also contradicts your wish to house an innocent soul because exposure to the outside world today has facilitated ethical erosion amongst children.
