the monitor

Counselling - Breaking Up The Spell and Live Free

Dear Coach, I have a daughter in her teen years and she has grown to be the biggest challenge in my homestead. She is actually 15-years-old and doing her Form Two. I no longer live with their father but he is very present in their lives. She has two siblings, one older than her whilst the other is younger than her.

During the first term school closure, I took them to visit their father and he bought them some cell phones as he had long promised. Troubles came along with the cell phone because she spends most of her time on it than her school books. She connects to so many people especially men and talks about adults things in her chats with them.

Apparently, there is a boy in my neighbourhood whom she is dating. The boy has really turned my daughter into a thorny child. She has totally lost her respect for me and the general public as she is seen kissing him in the streets. I have made attempts to meet with the boy's parents but my efforts run empty. They are not willing to come to the party due to that they are always drunk as they spend their day in a depot. My girl can abscond school and home for more than a week staying at the boy's house.

Editor's Comment
Depression is real; let's take care of our mental health

It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...

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