Parties: who is with your kids?

Dec 21, 2006

Christmas is a time for children to have fun. Everywhere in town, there are banners and posters advertising children’s Christmas parties. But as the children go out to have fun, so much could go wrong. How safe are they in the absence of their parents?

By Emmanuel Ssejjengo

Christmas is a time for children to have fun. Everywhere in town, there are banners and posters advertising children’s Christmas parties. But as the children go out to have fun, so much could go wrong. How safe are they in the absence of their parents?

Kwashie Gbedemah, the director of food and beverages at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, has organised three children’s parties at the hotel.

“We do not employ the services of any special pediatric tutors,” he says.

According to Kwashie, the hotel staff caters for the children. They select members of staff who are parents to look after the children.

Sheraton’s children’s parties that take place on December 31, Have grown over the years. having started with only 30 children in 2002, the hotel last year hosted about 110 children. This year, each child will pay sh30,000 for the Sheraton party.

At the recent children’s party at Didi’s World in Kasanga, the entrance fee of sh10,000 was also inclusive of an adult. So, parents were able to look after their children.

While in the late 1980s children would gather for the Christmas party at the KCC Grounds, the trend is dying out. Here, the “wild” kids from the streets would meet the more domesticated ones. Clashes did not come as a surprise. And because of the big numbers, the few guardians only protected their own, leaving many children in danger. Most of the free parties are now left to the street children because parents are shunning them.

However, not all “free” parties involve trouble. Recently, Kampala Pentecostal Church held a children’s Christmas party at their branch in Mengo.

The children were kept busy throughout the day with singing and dancing. By 5:00pm, the party had ended, peacefully.

Though food is always served at these parties, many of the children donot eat it. “Some of the children prefer playing to eating. When there is no one to force them to eat, they won’t eat,” says Theresa Byamugisha, a mother of two.

So, children need to be protected so that they get what they deserve from the parties. Let parties mean unforgettable fun.

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