You might think that cohabiting with relatives is an adventure just because they are that. Family. Wake up from slumber my friend. It is not that easy.
Being a community child is so hard. You are constantly moving in with relatives; mara today you are staying with uncle mark, tomorrow you are in aunty Shiro’s house and the cycle goes on and on. You almost look like a tourist.
It looks like so much fun but trust me, it is not as easy as you think. There are things that happen under their roof that make you uncomfortable or made you wish you had an alternative choice.
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- Issues of food rationing.
I don’t know about you but I have definitely experienced this firsthand. You at uncle Mark’s are allowed a certain portion of food, 3 slices of bread; no more no less. So you have no option but to abide by the rules of the house. Then once you go home, your mom complains that you are so malnourished. It is because of this reason.
- Be reserved please, thank you.
When staying at your relatives’ place, you can only do so much until they call you out for crossing the line. You must dress a certain way, and be home at a certain time, and there is absolutely no room for complaints.
- Subject to gossip.
You must be lucky if you have never experienced this. The very same relatives that smile with you and provide a roof over your head are the very same ones that will gang up in the kitchen to discuss how you are so lazy, you barely do anything in the house. If it is not you they are discussing, trust me it shall be someone close to you; either your mom, brother, sister, the works. Inevitably, someone must take one for the team.
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- The ‘little helper’
Once you have stayed at a relative’s place long enough, that is their cue to use your services every which way. My friend, you shall be the one cleaning, cooking, and getting groceries from the supermarket. Something like an unpaid worker. You have no choice because you are eating off the palm of their hand.
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Living with relatives can be hectic. So here is a caution to parents who will allow their kids to traverse all relatives’ homes. Not everything is fine and dandy there so I’d rather much your child cause chaos in your own house than be tied in your sister’s house.
