Childhood was full of mischief, with infinite tricks played on one’s parents, and it’s an interesting cycle. Mischief is passed down from generation to generation, with each generation assuming that they are smarter than the one before them.
Edgar Mugabo, a 40-year-old father of four, discusses some of the tricks he pulled on his parents that his children are currently playing on him and that are so similar to what he did as a youngster. Mugabo claims that his children’s antics are so similar to his that he sometimes recognises himself in them and wonders if his parents had communicated them to his children.
“Whenever I was chased to go and shower, I would wash my legs and hands, pour water on my head, and come out of the bathroom shivering, knocking my teeth like it was too cold. Sometimes I would get away with it, but sometimes I would be found out and sent back to the bathroom, a trick both my sons use each time it’s cold.”
“During school time, I would coil in bed and push fingers down the throat to force vomiting so that I could stay home and be given special treatment by the old lady, a trick one of the girls uses a lot whenever she wants to dodge school,” Mugabo stated.
However, with so much exposure to the internet and television, youngsters have developed increasingly sophisticated techniques that use false proof when they are caught off guard.
Sandra Atim, a mother of two, spoke about her experiences with her sons, who play cruel jokes on her. As a result, she confronted people, only to realise it was a lie. The kids’ tricks have merely gotten better.
According to Atim, her son requested money to purchase a school sweater; he returned home with a receipt, which he showed her, and told her he would pick up the sweater in two days. After two days, he reappeared and stated that the set where he had kept the receipt had been taken and that the bursar could not provide any assistance to him without the receipt.
“We went to the bursar, and it turned out he had never paid for the sweater, on propping further, we discovered he had sold the set and used a forged receipt from one of his friend’s father’s receipt books; I almost collapsed,” Atim stated.
Parents are gradually realising that the games they played on their parents are catching up to them, as their children play increasingly complex mind games in the digital age.
With the present trend, parents must step up their game when it comes to dot.com children; who are far more crafty than their parents were when they were that age.