Raising our children without pretending the world hasn't changed.
Many African parents are raising children in circumstances very different from the ones that shaped us.
Our children may have different expectations of privacy, independence, identity, relationships and what it means to be respected. At the same time, many parents want to preserve values, connections and ways of understanding family that still matter deeply.
The interesting questions often sit somewhere between those two realities.
Where do you want to start?
Parenting & Authority
How do we think about respect, boundaries, discipline and independence when our children are growing up with different expectations from the ones many of us had?
Respect, obedience, discipline, boundaries, independence, teenagers, privacy and parental authority.
Explore Parenting & AuthorityCulture & Identity
How do children understand who they are when home, school, friends, wider society and extended family may all give them different messages about identity and belonging?
African identity, diaspora identity, belonging, heritage, language, being described as “too Western”, cultural expectations and raising children across cultures.
Explore Culture & IdentityFamily & Expectations
What happens when achievement, comparison, family reputation, gender or extended-family expectations become part of the way children understand themselves?
Achievement, academic pressure, comparison, siblings and cousins, gender expectations, extended family and family reputation.
Explore Family & ExpectationsParenting & Authority
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The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 could help families.
African parents should still understand where the risks are.
2 May 2026 · 5 min read
Parenting & Authority
How to keep records when a school is not supporting your child (UK Guide)
Learn how to document school concerns and SEND support effectively. This guide shows you how to keep clear records, track meetings, and build the evidence needed when a school is not supporting your child.
30 Mar 2026 · 5 min read
Parenting & Authority
GCSEs are not for the faint-hearted
For most of us African parents raising kids in the UK, having a child in Year 11 is not just a milestone, it’s a full-blown initiation.
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Parenting & Authority
Can you be a gentle parent and still be African?
The first time I tried gentle parenting in public, I was in Tesco.My daughter was mid-tantrum in the snack aisle, performing for an imaginary Nollywoo...
10 Aug 2025 · 5 min read
Parenting & Authority
What African aunties got wrong about raising girls
Our African aunties meant well. Probably.So we all have that one auntie. The one who shows up at family gatherings with unsolicited life advice, a las...
13 Jul 2025 · 7 min read
Parenting & Authority
Am I a bad parent?
There are moments in parenting that feel like pure magic. Like when your child laughs from deep in their belly, you know… the kind that makes their wh...
6 Jul 2025 · 6 min read
Parenting & Authority
African Parenting Through the Lens of Therapy
Let’s start with a disclaimer.This is not a piece designed to throw shade at your mother, your father, your auntie that raised you, or the grandfather...
29 Jun 2025 · 5 min read
Parenting & Authority
Lost in Translation, Found in Love
The first time it truly slapped me was during a lockdown family Zoom call. Not a tap. Not a gentle nudge. A full-on spiritual backhand.Uncles were spe...
22 Jun 2025 · 5 min read
Parenting & Authority
Say It With Meaning
The midwife asked me what name we were giving him. I hesitated for a second. Not because we hadn’t picked one. But because I could already hear the aw...
8 Jun 2025 · 5 min read
