Professional Science and Mathematics educator, distinguished toastmaster, project manager, nuclear scientist, athlete, property investor, and pan-Africanist Ramarumo Tshikosi has his family name engraved as a force to be reckoned with in the literary world. The proud father of three authors has been cornered with questions on how he parented his daughters, who have received scholarships from prestigious private schools, published award-winning books, and have unrelenting pride in their identity.

 

In proud Tshikosi tradition, the Thohoyandou-born and Cape Town-based renaissance man has merged his parenting methods with extensive research to cultivate a culture of conscious parenting with his book, How To Parent Proudly African Children. Crediting his successful parenting to a myriad of practices that accentuate his active engagement in his children’s wellbeing, he acknowledges that there is no one size fits all approach to parenting. However, present parenting allows you to understand your child’s unique needs and how to bring the best out of them.

 

Batswadi caught up with the custodian of our next-generation matriarchs to discuss his book, the challenges he faced with parenting, why he chose to homeschool the kids, and more.

 

 

Congratulations on your book. How would you briefly describe it?

Ramarumo: Thanks so much. The book is a journal of my parenting journey with my three award-winning authors. I borrowed the best practices from my parents and the books I have read on the subject. The book shares the joy of spending time with my princesses, seeing them developing self-confidence and the essential milestone of when my daughters published award-winning books. Like any other child, we had to guide them when they went astray, discipline them when they were out of line and motivate them when they were not confident.

 

How would you define conscious parenting?

Ramarumo: Conscious parenting is to parent the children based on specific values. Our values are self-reliance, self-love, self-knowledge, self–realisation, and lifelong self-education. Most importantly, our children should embrace their African identity with pride.

 

How would you describe your journey as a father to your girls? Do you face any challenges, and how do you deal with them?

 

Ramarumo: It has been an exciting journey since I managed to build a healthy relationship with my daughters and set a high benchmark of what they should expect from a man. The challenge I expect is that they will intimidate potential sons-in-law because of their level of development. We have achieved a lot because of their mother’s unwavering support. She has played a tremendous role in supporting and signing them up for some learning opportunities. For example, she suggested that we sign up the children for a cooking course with Chef Mo. From that course, Naledzi discovered her passion for cooking, and her sisters have also since warmed up to cooking.

 

Yes, it was never smooth sailing. There were challenges, namely: electronic gadgets brought some serious challenges since they made them spend more time on them, which robbed them of the time for reading. The other challenge is that they find it difficult to make good friends since they are on a higher level of thinking than their peers.

 

At what point in your journey did you realise you had to write a book for African parents?

 

Ramarumo: I have been bombarded with questions from parents about how I parented my children. “How do you get them to appear on various TV stations and to get scholarships from prestigious private schools? How do you manage to get them to publish award-winning books? How do you make them take so much pride in their identity and Blackness?”

 

 

In one of the interviews, your daughter mentions they have been homeschooled. Were they all homeschooled?

 

Ramarumo: I would say all of them were homeschooled because their first teacher was me – their father. By the time they enrolled in grade one, they were already reading fluently. We sold the notion of homeschooling to our children in 2017; in 2018, Naledzi and Alidzulwi fell for it, while Tshimangadzo didn’t like it. At that time, Tshimangadzo was on a scholarship from a prestigious private school. In 2020, I signed them up for book-writing masterclasses, and their three books were published in November 2020.

 

Apart from public speaking and book writing, what other talents do you have and would like to share with us?

 

Ramarumo: I am a professional Science and Mathematics educator, distinguished toastmaster, project manager, nuclear scientist, athlete, property investor, and pan-Africanist.

 

What message would you share with other African fathers raising daughters in this new age?

Ramarumo: For a girl child, a father sets the standard of how she will relate to men. For a boy child, the presence of a father figure defines his masculinity; the father figure becomes the lens through which he will see the world. I think every child yearns to have a present father, a father who is loving and caring. Our nation has a challenge of absent fathers. Men who abdicate their responsibility by so doing ruin the generations to come. Fathers have a responsibility to support their children.

 

Where can one purchase the book?

Ramarumo: How to Parent Proudly African Children can be obtained from me. My cell number is 079 874 5490 or 076 018 6490. My email is tshikosira@gmail.com.

 

Do you have a word of advice for African families that wish to hop on the conscious parenting wagon?

Ramarumo: I think all parents, especially Africans, should embrace the idea of conscious parenting. By doing so, we will be able to define, shape and mould our children to become proactive, assertive, and responsible citizens. I facilitate conscious parenting workshops since I believe parenting, like driving, requires some competency.