Allow your children to struggle, Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor advises parents

Veteran Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, has advised parents against shielding their children from every form of hardship, saying allowing them to experience some struggles is essential to building responsible and resilient adults.

Ozokwor said she struggled her way to success, recalling that she once fried buns and prepared chicken to sell at movie locations and audition venues while saving money for transportation.

Speaking in an interview with Femi Bassey TV on YouTube, shared on Wednesday, the actress said parents who constantly tell their children they would not experience the difficulties they faced while growing up could inadvertently weaken them.

“When you say, ‘I don’t want my children to suffer what I suffered when I was growing up,’ okay, that’s the best way to destroy your children,” she said.

“I’m not saying allow them to suffer. What I’m saying is allow them to struggle. Go through the process.”

The actress said her own journey to success was far from easy, noting that she had to work through difficult circumstances while raising her children and caring for her husband, who suffered from diabetes and hypertension for years.

Ozokwor recalled, “There was a time I was frying buns. When I even came into the industry, I would prepare chicken, dress it well. I would prepare buns for anyone you want to buy.”

She said she would take the food to movie locations and audition venues, where people bought from her, adding that she saved the proceeds to cover her transportation.

“But maybe the next day you see the children standing, waiting for me to see if there’s money coming up for handouts and for all that. Yes, that’s how I grew up,” she said.

According to the actress, those experiences also shaped her children, who eventually learned to take responsibility for themselves rather than depending entirely on what she had achieved.

Ozokwor said she made sure her children understood the effort behind the family’s possessions, noting that three of her sons once helped with construction work while they were university students.

“I don’t say that your children will go through all the pains you went through, but let them go through little pains. Then they will know that it is not easy to make,” she said.

She further warned parents against handing everything to their children without teaching them how to preserve and build upon what they inherit.

“Don’t get this on the platter of gold. It’s not easy. Your father built three houses, four houses and you think you can balance on eating it,” she said.

Ozokwor also urged young people to embrace hard work, recalling that she did not wait for her husband to provide everything she needed.

“I didn’t wait for my husband. I studied my husband. I knew the kind of person he was. I buttoned up and then tied my belt and I struggled,” she said.

The actress added that her children are now comfortable because they understand the value of hard work and the sacrifices made to build what they have.

“My children know the pains of making life better and that’s why they are all comfortable now, struggling on their own,” she said.