Nigeria In The Eyes Of Our Children

RAISING OUR KIDS IN NAIJA

Our two boys were born in Singapore. They became US citizens instantly since my husband is an American. At that time, we were living in Saudi Arabia. I cannot imagine giving birth to our boys there. Much more, giving birth here!!! For me, it was a very much tedious process and took a couple of years before I was naturalised.

I went from holding a red passport....

 to holding a blue passport :)

When my husband decided that we will bring our family of six (including our cats) here to Nigeria for an assignment, I was not happy at first. In Singapore, lots of families especially expats have full-time nannies. Just like here, some even have 2-3 nannies/steward in one household. These nannies live with their employers in Singapore. Somehow, I do not like that idea so which is why I only hired part-time help. I also do not like the idea of our kids becoming spoilt brats this way. Always relying on the helpers to do EVERYTHING for them. In a way, by coming here to Nigeria, it will be an eye-opener for our boys. I want them to see the poverty, the way the Lagosians/Nigerians live, how the children here do not get EVERYTHING that they wanted. So far, they are enjoying their time here in Lagos. Which is fantastic and I feel relieved. They have made some good friends here and they have a lot of activities in school that keep them busy. Yes, their social life are as busy as mine!



End of soccer season 2011. Kids with their trophies. See you in 2012 :)

 

Nigerian Cultural Day

 First birthday celebration in school in Nigeria

Moving to Nigeria made the bond of our family stronger. I hope so. I sure hope so.  I have seen and heard too many stories of families that moved here (and also in other parts of the world) only to be broken up by intriguing factors. For now, we are happy here. I am getting happier.