Dear Teen . . . .

Hey friends, I love this season, you can call me the Xmas girl. Anyway, on my last article I told you that I was excited, but didn’t tell you why. Well, I am excited because…(Drum rolls)… my BIRTHDAY is coming soon, Yay!!! On the 21st of December I will be ** years old. Thank you, thank you….(Winks)

Back to the matter. To all my teen readers, I’m dedicating this letter to you! Enjoy!!

Dear Teens,
I know that life seems so exciting right now, and also, stressful too. You feel your parents/guardians are being over-protective and unnecessarily inquisitive about the Who and Where of your life.

Girls, I guess you feel like you are the center of attraction for the guys, they all want to talk to you and be your friend. You are actually amazed at the physical changes on your body: sometimes you want the whole world to notice how much you have grown, other times you just want to cover it all up. Trust me girls, I have been there!
And for the young boys, now is the time of your life when your voice begins to give you a reason to talk all the time. And of course, we see you staring wishfully at the girls too – we see you. I understand that its your hormones playing tricks on you.

But your parents keep ringing it in your head to face your studies and not get distracted. Somewhere around the world, a teenager is screaming, “Can’t I just enjoy this prime time of my life?!” well sweetheart, they want you to enjoy yourself but they don’t want you to get carried away by the fun of it.

I can’t forget what it means being a teen in high school, when either you are loved or you are bullied – or both. Well, don’t feel so bad. This is the time when your attitude towards people’s actions either mar or make you.

This is the stage where you can develop skills, work on your weaknesses and you maximize the strengths. If you being bullied, don’t hate yourself or do anything rash, you are not the worse thing that ever happened. Don’t give in to them, remain strong. Never regret having a small stature. Remember, big things come in small packages – take Lionel Messi for example.
To the gossip girls, you need to stop spreading rumours before it becomes a habit, a very dirty habit indeed!

Dear teens, this is the most important time of your lives when you build a foundation of growing up to either be a good person or a bad person.

My beautiful teenage girls, here is a piece of advice from the intellectual, music icon, Lauryn Hill, it goes, “girls you know you better watch out, some guys are only about ‘that thing’, that thing….” I know you understand what I’m talking about.

Some of your friends see you as not being cool because you are still holding on to your pride. Pls don’t feel bad for having a great self-esteem. Remember your price is worth more than ruby! And I advice you to always talk to women who live responsibly. Don’t keep all things to yourself, when you share a problem, it gets half solved.

And for my teen boys, irrespective of who your parents are; you are a prince! Always behave as a wise prince should! Never think less of yourself, instead, think like a great king. Remember, silence gives you the valuable time to do what great men do – THINK. Great men don’t fight on the streets nor join bad gangs. Great men study, analyse, gain more knowledge, and enhance their creativity to make the world a better place.

Before I go, I have to let you know that, of all the sources of wisdom known to man, GOD is the ultimate! Get closer to God by studying the Holy Book. Through the help of the Holy spirit, all you have to do is call out to Him and He will direct your path! Make the Holy Book of God your novel and it will give you insight and wisdom. It works for great people and so it will work for you too!

Okay Sweets, I wish I could go on and on but for my editor’s sake. *rolling eyes*

Thanks for reading this and I will be waiting to hear your exciting stories, questions and experience on the blog, or, if you are a shy friend then you can send me a mail: temitobi@rocketmail.com
Always remember, I love you.

Love
Aunt Jemima.

This has got to stop!!! (Part 2)

This has got to stop!!! (Part 2)

Last time on My Loud Thought we read about what children are going through that we possibly don’t have an idea about as parents or guardians, and on this second part of “This has got to stop!!!”, we will be dealing with what we can do to help them.

Don’t ask me why it’s all about children these days, I was once a little child who couldn’t speak for herself. Yes, I was oppressed while I was growing up, *sighs* I can remember how I would cry to my mum and she kept on telling me that I am strong and I should always remember that No one is better than me because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Although the oppression got tougher as I grew, but my mum’s words kept me going -and it still does today. Then I didn’t know God the way I know him now but I was taught how to pray. So I would go down on my knees and pray to God to make me stronger and better, and yes he did.
I look back at those years now and thank God because it was a learning process for me and a blessing in disguise.

Why am I saying this? I’m saying it because most parents have chosen to feed their children with words that could destroy them rather than elevate them. It hurts me so much when I hear some parents speak negatively into the lives of their children. I have said it before and will say it again that the words we speak are like a plant that grows as the days go by.

So when you speak negatively into your children’s lives you sow a seed of low self-esteem, bitterness and above all, rejection. You make them feel that if their parents can’t see anything good in them then an outsider shouldn’t, which is not meant to be. We need to start professing good things to our children even when they get you so angry. Your thoughts toward them should be loving thoughts that can bring about upliftment in their lives.

Another thing we need to do for them is to keep them busy. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop…YES!!! When they are on holidays enrol them into good tutorial classes, which could be academic or non-academic like music lessons, ballet lessons, and other sports activities. Even educative camping is not a bad idea. Give it a try and you will be surprised at its unlimited benefits.

The minds of adults too, if left idle, are attacked by sinful thoughts and before we know it we start plotting evil. Keep the kids occupied with good activities. Get them inspirational books to read. Tell them stories about children who are making positive impact. Ask them what their dreams are, I mean, what they would like to become and enquire about how they intend to achieve it. By doing this, you keep their minds occupied with good objectives and ideas.

Finally we need to listen to them. Become their best friends and confidants. Our children need our attention and care toward their feelings. Harshness is definitely not the solution to it. Listen about their fears, dreams, concerns, ambitions, etc. Know what their favorite things are, monitor them and carry out assessments on them with story writings, or they could list the things they learned during the previous week. Ask them to tell you what happens in class and who their best friend is.

That brings me to the most important point which is to try as much as possible to know their friends. “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” Have a good knowledge of their friend’s background.

All these things are important and go a long way in their lives. Don’t be a parent who scares children off. Don’t let them see you has the person with two horns on the head. We are meant to guide them and not scare them. And above all, pray for God’s discernment and wisdom to train them right and bring the best out of them.
If we do all these things, I believe our children will grow to become great leaders who will make great impacts in their generation.
God bless you!

Like Facebook page: My Loud Thought.