Journalist and media personality, Nana Aba Anamoah, has advised parents to stop forcing their unrealised ambitions on their children, stressing that such practices are unfair and limiting.
Speaking on the importance of allowing children to discover their own paths, Nana Aba said many parents pressure their children to pursue prestigious careers simply because they were unable to achieve those dreams themselves.
“Parents must stop imposing and superimposing what they wanted to be that they couldn’t on their children,” she remarked.
According to her, professions such as law, medicine, and pharmacy are often pushed onto children, not because of the child’s passion, but because of the parents unfulfilled aspirations.
“A lot of people want their children to be lawyers, pharmacists and doctors because it was a dream for them and they didn’t achieve it, so they want their children to be that in some cases,” she explained.
Nana Aba emphasized that children should be allowed to experience life on their own terms, including making mistakes, as this is a crucial part of personal growth.
“But that’s not fair. Let the child experience life for themselves. If they make a mistake, it is part of growing up,” she noted.
She added that when things do not go as planned for a child, that is when parental guidance becomes most important.
“If they hit a snag, they know it didn’t go as planned. But that’s when you come in as a parent and guide them,” she said.
Sharing a personal experience, the award-winning broadcaster revealed that her own father had hoped she would become a medical doctor because of her strength in science subjects. However, she chose a different path.
“My father wanted me to be a medical doctor because I was good at science, but I told my father I wanted to be a TV presenter. He said, ‘let’s see how it goes’ and now see,” she added.
