Poor Parents Cannot Afford Birthdays

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Mercy Johnson, Nigerian actress with three of her four kids.

Parents need help. Social media has movies and YouTube celebrities celebrating birthdays in lavish style. In some cases, they even have photo shoots where mum, dad and kids wear matching outfits. This is not real life but parents are on the bench now. Social media is the new parent. That’s why kids demand birthdays parents, cannot afford.

All teenage kids have cellphones whether parents can afford them or not. Therefore, they see how rich and famous people celebrate their birthdays. It’s even more destructive in Nigerian movies, because movie and YouTube actresses even get marriage proposals on top of phenomenal gifts like cars, on their birthdays.

Life is hard for poor parents in Africa because of school fees. British colonizers not only stole the land, they instituted an educational system where conquered people had to fund their mental slavery by going to school, as well. Parents still cannot afford school uniform, books and school fees. Some kids don’t grow up with their parents. They live with aunts or uncles who can pay their school fees.

Most kids used to understand the importance of education, although it was basically learning English, the colonizer’s language. Not anymore. Peer pressure is online. Kids want to have birthday presents and parties like their peers. They don’t understand that parents are not rich like Rihanna, Nigerian actress Mercy Johnson or reality star Kim Kardashian.

Celebrities Must Help Parents

Ideally, Nigerian movie producers must eliminate birthday scenes altogether. It will also reduce production costs. Celebrities can also have a line like: Your parents cannot give you a birthday like this one, but love them nonetheless and stay in school.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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