What I’m Teaching My Kids Beyond the Classroom

As a parent, I have come to understand that knowledge is the principal thing, and regardless of the gender of my kids, there is compulsory knowledge I am working on impacting in their lives so that as they continue to grow, they also grow in knowledge, which is vital.

One of these essential knowledge areas I am working hard to ensure that my kids get hung up on is the basic cooking and household skills. In my place, there is this belief that girls are meant for house chores, including cooking, while boys go for farming, play ball, and the like. This is why my twin brother grew up not knowing how to cook, and when his wife gave birth two years ago, he couldn't assist in the kitchen but ended up buying cooked food from the restaurants for some time until his wife recovered from the CS.

For my kids, they all will learn, and the grown-ups are already learning how to prepare meals, clean the house, arrange their spaces, and take basic responsibilities, which is very important.

Another important knowledge we are working on is time management. The ability for them to know that there is time for everything is vital as well. Every time is not for play; there is time for that, time to assist with chores at home, time to study their books and do their assignments from school, time to rest and sleep, and so on. Everything should be planned and structured, though we are still in our learning phase.

Next is financial literacy, like the savings culture I discussed extensively in my last blog, teaching them all about money and their ability to understand the power of income, which is the foundation of financial stability.

Currently, I taught them that higher education/knowledge could give them access to higher opportunities to make more money and that honing their skills and discovering their talents is not out of point when it comes to generating income.

One other important knowledge we are learning is about building healthy relationships, being friendly and humble, and relating with positive friends of like minds, and in the process, you build support. This is important to me so that they grow to become intentional about the kind of friends they associate with.

Finally, the knowledge of basic digital skills, exploring computers, MS Word, and Google stuff, and getting used to it gradually—currently, my second son is learning basic coding, but I know that with time, they will become conversant with tech skills because it's going to be an intentional knowledge to impact their lives from this early stage.

There are more, but it's always a gradual process with kids. I believe that when parents become intentional with imparting varieties of knowledge in the lives of the kids, the difference will be clear.

Images are mine