Let parents celebrate kids’ milestones

My former school principal, Ernest Hlathi, used to motivate us by saying: “There is no such thing called a little milestone – learn to celebrate all your achievements.”

I am invoking his wise words in light of an endless string of unpalatable comments on social media about people making fun of parents celebrating their little ones’ pre-school graduation. Jokes ranged from dismissing their excitement as unnecessary as far as questioning why a mother would even shed a tear for such a meaningless occasion. What these armchair critics fail to understand is that a pre-school graduation may look like nothing in their eyes, but it is a mirror of multiple untold stories.

Parents, particularly single mothers, go through a lot of challenges, raising their own children with next to nothing. Most of them are unemployed but managed to pull out all the stops to ensure that their children never go to bed on an empty stomach.

Some of these children are beneficiaries of social grants, and are now on the verge of starting formal school. Parents can’t help but ululate when they see their children taking that giant leap, as education is a great engine of personal development.

Seeing them cry tears of joy is testament to the hardship they have endured for their children to reach this level. In this world infested with diseases, ritual murders and other heinous crimes targeting kids, seeing your child lives to see another day can’t be taken for granted. Children are a gift from God and they ought to be cherished in every little step they take.

Malphia Honwane, Gottenburg, eManyeleti