Chronicles of a Sunday School Teacher

It is enjoyable to be some kind of teacher. How about being a Sunday school teacher?

Whether a teacher in school, church, or lecture halls, hundreds and thousands of kids are paying keen attention to you.

They are eager to know whether the content they are listening to is worth their time and adds value to their life.

Here is a friend of mine who is a Sunday school teacher. He spends much of his time coaching high school students with classwork.

He also mentors them with God’s word and is more passionate about sharing it with children.

Doesn’t the Bible talk about Jesus Christ exhorting his listeners to allow young children to come to him?

As a youth leader and an aspiring parent, we have shared a lot with Dave on parenting and the pertinent issues affecting children, teens, and youth.

Parents today are digital and raising their kids in a digital world. Now, this is not wrong per se. Parents are facing myriad challenges stemming from the age of technology and growing social media influence.

Given his penchant for spending time with kids, my best friend got an invitation to attend his niece’s birthday.

With the festive season at hand, no one will say no to such invitations. Don’t people want to make merry and capture excellent memories?

As usual, friends, colleagues, and families converged at the party to celebrate another year of a young one on earth.

As I would like to call him, Dave has been to parties before but did not expect a party with liquor in the presence of kids.

That being said, the party was wow, to say the least.

Just at that point, when drinks were being served, the waitress handed David a bottle of liquor. Hahaha.

The staunch Christian in him could not allow him to say yes to the offer.

Even though given as a kind gesture from the host, this was obviously uncomfortable to somebody who doesn’t take liquor.

What I found funny is how other guests at the party wondered about the choice of his drinks. Hahaha.

Personally, I was a teetotaller two years ago, never to taste any alcoholic beverage again. I would have politely declined the offer if in Dave’s shoes.

However, I can attest to the fact that alcoholic drinkers find it rather odd if they meet someone at a party function who doesn’t drink alcohol, let alone taste it.

While Dave sat comfortably with his bottle of water,  people kept asking him: “Are you sure you are okay?”  Hahaha.

He was okay, but people, especially Kenyans, do not want to believe somebody can drink something different apart from liquor at a party.

I mean, who said one must party with liquor? Kenyans (not all, for that matter), unfortunately, have a soft spot for alcohol, and they deem a party incomplete without it.

However, our greatest concern here wasn’t about the party makers taking alcohol but the fact that they were doing it in front of their kids.

However, our greatest concern here wasn’t about the party makers taking alcohol but the fact that they were doing it in front of their kids.

Worse yet, they could send their kids to bring them more alcohol from the fridge.

Ugly Parenting Patterns

Common wisdom denotes that kids won’t pay attention to what you tell them but to what you do.

As noted by my buddy Sunday school teacher, parenting reared its ugly head rather vividly at the function going by the different behaviors exhibited by the kids.

Notably, when the cake was being cut, kids swam into action wanting a bite and to cut the cake simultaneously.

On the other hand, this group of kids watched from a distance, waiting eagerly for someone to serve them.

Evidently, the way these kids behaved goes back to how their parents nurtured and handled them at home.

Just as charity begins at home. Disciplining your child starts at home before you send them to Sunday school or the 8.4.4  education system.

I have lived with young parents whose kids are spoilt brats. They dismiss even the gravest of mistakes with a simple, “I will whip you,” and that is it.

Such kids have no respect for adults and visitors in their homes. They will jump on the sofa around you, snatch your phone and hit you unexpectedly. Owe unto you if you wear spectacles. I had to replace mine recently because of such an ordeal.

In all these, they expect you to do nothing lest you fall short of the discipline code in their home.

It’s even more annoying when they are doing this to you in front of their parents, who don’t care about your ordeal at all.

The only option left is to play along and pretend you are comfortable.

One interesting thing Dave noted was also the health of these young kids. Kids fed on junk food often appeared weaker as compared to kids who fed on carbohydrates and protein diets.

Methinks parents should call the shorts on what their kids should be eating. Snacks are good for kids once in a while, but rarely.

However much he/she always screams for that ice cream displayed at the shops, we must make an effort to wean them from consuming junk food.

As we enjoy the festive season, let’s remember to be wonderful parents and custodians to our young ones.

If we give the freedom of their desires at a young age, we will have to contend with raising rebellious teenagers. This is because there was a twist already in their upbringing we didn’t want to address.

Successful parenting to all parents and aspiring parents in 2020!