Veteran actor, Keppy Ekpeyong-Bassey has revealed the close-knitted relationship he has with his kids which also rubbed off on their friends, causing them to easily open up to him and his wife than their parents.
Though he expressed shock at the kind of relationship those parents have with their children, he argued it was always best to build a strong bond with one’s kids,.
He advised parents to always make themselves accessible to allow their children share their challenges or even joys with them.
Ekpeyoung-Bassey explained that his parents set this foundation for him which made relating with his own kids a walk in the park.
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He recounted how his father used to get emotional while scolding him and his siblings as well as how his mother, who he described as a rascal was one easy-going parent that would indulge him and his friends in some alcohol and cigarettes whenever she came visiting while they were in the tertiary institution.
He admitted most traditional Nigerian parents would find his and parents style of parenting awkward but noted having the door of communication with ones kids was the best.
He insisted most people would be stupefied if they had an opportunity to see their kids’ real selves which they hide behind closed doors as a result of restricted communication.
Narrating his father’s reaction whenever he had to rebuke them as youngsters, the ingenious role interpreter, speaking to media personality Chude Jideonwo in an interview said: “My father was someone who would scold you and cry as he’s spanking you.
He stated: “Why did you do that, you shouldn’t do this”. And then he was a military officer, we had guards at the gate and everything. And then when he spanks his kids, he’s the one crying, but we had that kind of interactive relationship.
“My mum? Rascal. Oh! My mum was a rascal, everybody knew even my friends know till tomorrow. When I was in the university and she’ll come visit, she’ll come with bottles of brandy, rolls of cigarettes.
“She’ll sit down with us. Because I lived off campus, she’ll light a stick of cigarette and call everybody, ‘come let’s drink’ and stuff. So it was easy to speak with my parents, it was fun.
“Now I’m grown, I have children of my own and then we have some of their friends stay over and they think it’s easier to speak with us than their folks and I don’t understand how it works in other homes. Because with my kids, my son can walk up to me and pull my ears and say, ‘Old man with your big ears’ and I wouldn’t think anything about it, you know. But there are some people who see it and they cringe and they are afraid because they can’t and wouldn’t dare relate with their folks that way.
“We also have come to find out that if you close particular doors of communication between you and your children, you’ll be really shocked at who you think your children are because they would hide behind those closed doors and you don’t want to know when you get in.”