PARENTING IS ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT
‘Femi Adekunle on Parenting
Let me relay this story that my friend told me. When he finished primary school, he passed his entrance examination into the then prestigious Unity Schools in Nigeria. He was offered admission into one of the schools in the old Cross River State. My friend’s family lived in Akure, Ondo State. The distance was several hundreds of kilometres. To every one’s surprise, it was his mum that encouraged his dad to allow him to go to this school in spite of the distance. According to her, travelling is part of education. So, off he went.
In his first year, it was vacation, and he decided to leave school on his own, joining a bus that was Lagos-bound with other students. This was unknown to his parents, as it was in the days when there was no gsm and very few telephone lines. My friend was however going to Akure, so he dropped in another town – Ore – not too far from his Akure home, but far and dangerous enough for an 11-year-old to navigate on his own at nightfall.
While roaming the bus garage at night, he was taken in by a good Samaritan with whom he passed the night until he was reconnected to his parents the following day; spirit, soul, body and luggage intact. His parents’ hearts skipped beats as he narrated the story of his journey home to them. Mine too, as I listened to him! It’s a scary experience for an adolescent, one which no parent would intentionally encourage to happen to their child, but, having happened, with hindsight, my friends’ parents must have been proud of their brave son who had early in life honed incredible social skills needed to navigate life.
What a risk the lad took, and what a risk the parents took also. Geena Davis said “if you risk nothing, then you risk everything”. Life is all about taking risks, and parenting is no exception. Risk taking is so inevitable in parenting that all we need to do, as is done in business enterprises, is manage them.
To eliminate risks along the path of our children is to limit the potentials of our children for growth. From the toddler that learns how to ride a bicycle, to the adolescents left alone in the house while you travel for days away from home, to the pre-teen training to master the pole vault, to the teenager who drives a car for the first time on a busy highway, we’re both taking incredible risks – parent and child alike. We’ll both make mistakes, but we’ll both learn from them and be the better for it.
_To eliminate risks along the path of our children is to limit the_potentials of our children for growth._
Please, we wish you could always end your article with a small intro like:
‘Femi Adekunle, a Parenting and Family Coach, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
Email: femi383@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 08055103512
7th September, 2025
