Veteran Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, has advised parents against shielding their children from every form of hardship, warning that excessive comfort could affect their ability to cope with life’s challenges.
Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, advised during an interview on Femi Babs TV, where she spoke about parenting, wealth and raising independent children.
The actress said parents who try to prevent their children from experiencing the difficulties they encountered while growing up could unintentionally deprive them of valuable life lessons.
She stressed that allowing children to struggle through manageable challenges is different from deliberately subjecting them to suffering.
“The fastest way to ruin a child’s life is to say you don’t want them to suffer the way you did. I’m not saying allow them to suffer. What I’m saying is, allow them to struggle. Go through the process,” Ozokwor said.
She also cautioned wealthy parents against leaving their children substantial properties without teaching them the value of hard work and the sacrifices involved in acquiring such wealth.
Ozokwor illustrated her point by referring to parents who own several houses in different cities, saying their children may grow up taking the properties for granted because they did not witness the effort required to acquire them.
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“When they don’t struggle, can you imagine you have like 20 houses? You have in Enugu, you have in Aba, you have in Lagos. Your children will just be struggling, ‘Which one belongs to me?’ They don’t know how you struggled to get those things,” she said.
The actress urged parents to encourage their children to work for what they want while teaching them to appreciate the comfort and opportunities they have.
She further advised parents to allow their children to experience some challenges in life so they can develop resilience and understand the value of what they have.
According to her, children who grow up with excessive comfort may eventually develop the expectation that life should always be easy.
“Let your children know the pains of life. Not all the pains, but the little they know will tell them that when they look back, they will see that people go through harder ones, and they will thank God for where they are,” she added.
