My children do not use TikTok. Not because I am old fashioned. Not because I want to shield them from everything digital. But because I have seen what is on that platform — the language, the videos, the pictures, the trends — and I have made a clear, intentional decision as their mother: They are…
When we talk about neurodiversity in Africa; we name autism, ADHD, dyslexia and learning differences — one community is almost always missing from the conversation. Children with Down syndrome. Yet Down syndrome is unquestionably part of the neurodiversity family. It results in a brain that processes, learns and experiences the world differently — not deficiently,…
There is a moment every single parent knows. It is the end of the month. The account is nearly empty. The kids need something — school lunch, a new pair of takkies, data for homework. And you sit there, doing the mental gymnastics, moving money around in your head like a puzzle that simply does…
A widow in Kenya lost her husband suddenly. She had a young son, no income and rent due at the end of the month. Her chama — the Kenyan equivalent of a stokvel — stepped in. The women paid her rent. They bought food for her son. They sat with her through the grief and…
A father in China recently made headlines across the world. Frustrated that his adult son spent most of his time playing online games instead of working, he reportedly hired skilled gamers — often called “virtual assassins” — to repeatedly kill his son’s character in multiplayer games. His plan was simple: make gaming so frustrating that…
I want to say something that might be uncomfortable. Something that many African adults feel but few say out loud. Some of us are raising our children the way we were raised — in a world that no longer exists. We are using 1990s tools to navigate a 2026 reality. We are applying the parenting…
Behind anger, attitude and silence; many teenagers are fighting emotional battles nobody sees. Every day across South Africa and Africa, a teenager gets punished for behaviour that is actually a cry for help. They are called disrespectful. Rebellious. . Rude. Lazy. Difficult. And their parents — exhausted, frustrated and working from the only parenting framework…
In our home we talk about bullying before it happens. Not because my children have experienced it — thankfully they have not. But because I know, as a counsellor and as an African mom raising children in an increasingly digital world, that prevention is always more powerful than reaction. My son (8) loves playing Minecraft…
I want to tell you about a woman I once encountered during my Counselling training. She was a professional. Educated. Composed. She sat in that lecture hall the same way everyone else did — notebook open, pen ready, present. Then the lecturer introduced the topic of grief. And something broke open inside her. She began…
Let me tell you something that no one tells you when your child’s birthday is approaching: You do not need to spend R3000 on a birthday party to make your child feel special. In South Africa, birthday party culture has become increasingly expensive — venue hire, catering packages, jumping castles, professional entertainers, themed decorations and…