We all want our kids to grow up being perfectly balanced people who are capable of reaching their full potential. We want our children to have the confidence to realise their dreams. We want them to be creative, intelligent and optimistic about life. We want what's best for them yet as parents, we do not always have the luxury of controlling every influence from music or multi-media that children are subjected to.
In the "Song of Success and Other Poems for Children", Ikeogu Oke writes about time in The Watchman. In this poem, the Watchman loses sleep so that we can have ours. At times, while we are sleeping, our kids are watching television and because they are watching cartoons, we think and hope that their minds are safe.
He teaches one to value the gifts offered to us for free by nature in, "Salute to our Palm Trees". As resourceful as nature is, to what extent are we aware, care for and protect her from abuse?
 |
Fresh wine foams in grandpa's cup
It is thanks to our palm trees! |
 |
There's sheltering thatch above their hut
It is thanks to them! |
 |
There's oil in grandma's soup
It is thanks to our palm trees |
 |
There's sponge to scrub their dishes clean
It is thanks to them! |
 |
There's soap to wash their clothes clean
It is thanks to our palm trees
|
 |
There's also a broom to sweep their home
It is thanks to them! |
Where are the children's songs that sensitize and educate us about this lest we forget? Oke's book has a sing-along CD attached to it. Takalani Sesame, on the other hand, has embarked on an important mission to provide songs in 5 South African languages linked to each episode in order to heighten the emotional relevance of educational objectives. What have you personally documented or keep as your own evidence of your cultural history? How often do you share this with your children?
If one wants to promote the idea of leadership to women and girls, the poem about the Great Queen who was a warrior and fought a 1000 battles, won in all but two is one that would motivate any girl child to be confident and strong enough to face her male counterparts where necessary. However, how many people know about the Song of Success and Other Poems for Children or other children's literature written by Africans? What are you doing to expose your children to this knowledge if you think it is important?
One reads such poems and stories, and searches for more cartoons that depict this without imposing any racial class stereotypes. One searches for more children's television programs or movies that encourage cultural diversity and indeed educate children about virtuosity and their history. Takalani Sesame and writers such as Ikeogu Oke must be praised for leading the way in producing the kind of content that is qualitative, memorable, educational and entertaining for children and child-like adults.
Click here to read the article that inspired this post
