Ghanaian singer and songwriter Kwame Nsiah Apau, popularly known as Okyeame Kwame, has opened up about the most challenging part of fatherhood, saying he has accepted that children cannot be taught everything.
Speaking in an interview with Giovani Caleb on Showbiz 360, Okyeame Kwame revealed that he has come to realise one is not truly a good father until their children are grown and well integrated into society.
“The most challenging part of fatherhood is accepting that I can’t teach my children everything. I’ve come to realise that you’re not a good father until your children are old enough and well integrated into society. Everything we are doing is trial and error,” he said.
According to him, he initially thought he understood fatherhood because he had read several books on parenting, but he soon discovered that reality was different.
“I thought I knew about fatherhood. I read a lot of books, but no, I don’t know anything. Some of the things that work for others don’t work for me. So I try to work with my children, and I see that each child is unique,” he explained.
He continued, “For example, my son is very smart but also very divergent. He has a lot of energy like me; he can’t sit in one place for 15 minutes. He wants to move and play, but we want him to learn. I’ve come to see that you can’t teach a child anything.”
The Yeeko hitmaker added that his approach has shifted from instructing to guiding his children.
“I have to find a way to draw out of them what they want to do, which is positive. That’s a challenge because the modern father’s responsibility is to make sure they don’t transfer their fear onto the children. And since I’m afraid for the child, it’s challenging for me to watch him get hurt, but I have to let him, because that’s what he wants to do.”
FG/MA
Meanwhile, you can watch GhanaWeb TV’s exclusive interview with Arathejay below:
