A BRIGHT FUTURE

Sometimes it is good to find oneself in the wrong. I used to view modern youngsters generally as a self-centred, selfish bunch with scant concern for those less fortunate. How slanted was my opinion!

At a recent community clean-up, dozens of enthusiastic high school children became involved.

On another day as I approached the local primary school, I saw a woman sprawled on the sun-warmed pavement. A youngster darted ahead of me to reach her first. To his concerned inquiry, she responded that she was “all right”. She was just taking a nap before her little learner came out of class.

Then our parish community did a pre-Christmas campaign to collect toiletries for the elderly. It was a pleasant eye-opener to see how many kind-hearted teenagers presented their donations of love and care. There is hope for a “bright tomorrow “when such youngsters eventually “take the helm” in our country.

FERN, EMAIL

Before my family and I went to live in a new house, we didn’t know one another very well. We talked more with people on social media than we did one-on-one.

The kids would eat with their phones in their hands and wouldn’t engage with family members at the dinner table.

We were living together, yet didn’t connect. We were alive, yet not living.

In our new home, we didn’t have electricity at first and relied on neighbours to charge our cellphones for us. That limited the time we spent on social media.

In the evenings, the family would come together at the dinner table and start sharing our experiences and jokes.

That’s when we spotted the funny sides of our kids, their weaknesses and the direction in which we needed to guide them. It showed in the kids and their mother’s faces that they started looking forward to another evening of joyful family time.

When we finally got the electricity installed after three months, the kids already knew the importance of communicating with those you are living with.

They went back to their social media lifestyle but I’m glad they no longer eat with their phones in hand.

S P MOFFAT, MAMELODI EAST