It’s no news that some children don’t have a childhood, and It’s affecting them.
Not every child gets to be a child. Some are forced to grow up too soon, burdened by responsibilities, trauma, or emotional neglect. While their peers are playing, imagining, and learning the world through joy, these children are navigating pain, survival, and silence. It’s easy to forget how vital a real childhood is, one filled with curiosity, security, and love. But its absence leaves lasting marks.
Many of our parents, often unknowingly, made this mistake. Whether shaped by hardship, cultural pressure, or the belief that toughness builds strength, they stripped innocence too early. They pushed maturity before its time. And now, some of us, their children, are still trying to unlearn the defenses we built. Still yearning for safety we never felt. Still aching for the version of ourselves that never got to play, dream, or be carefree.
The worst are the ones who are forced to marry so soon, to alleviate the poverty and help train their younger ones. A lot of mistakes were made by parents years ago and the circle is repeating in some families.
The truth is, you never really outgrow the loss of a childhood. It echoes in your relationships, your self-worth, confidence, and your ability to rest. It shows up in the pressure to succeed, the fear of vulnerability, the lack of confidence when measured with your peers, the way you talk to yourself when no one’s listening, and so on.
And now, as some of us become parents, mentors, or caretakers ourselves, we face a choice, Do we repeat what was done to us, or do we break the cycle?
Let’s choose right. Let kids be kids. Don’t make them carry what’s not theirs yet.
Childhood is not a luxury. It’s a right. A sacred season that helps shape emotionally whole, creative, and resilient people. Let’s remember that a child doesn’t need to be toughened up by life before they’ve even had a chance to live it. They need room to explore. They need patience, gentleness, and safety.
Let’s give our children what many of us needed but didn’t get. Let’s protect their childhood, so they don’t spend their adulthood trying to recover it.
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu
