By Katlego Sekhu
According to studies conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the South African Race Relations Institute (SARRI) in June 2021, more than 40% of South African mothers are single parents.
This could be because their husbands passed on, they are divorced or the father of the kids is just a deadbeat.
This sparked the question on Thomas And Skhumba: “As a first born son to a single mother, do you feel the responsibility to step up as the man of the house?“
Skhumba who’s a firstborn child shares: “You feel like you have to step up and take responsibility. It comes naturally, as an older sibling they look to you for security in the house.
“Being the man of the house doesn’t necessarily mean control or shouting at the kids. It just means I have to step up and work harder,” he says.
Thomas says although his father didn’t raise him, he never felt the responsibility to become the man of the house. “This is because I was raised by my uncles. They played the role of the father in my house. That pressure was never on me,” he explains.
Listen to what Kaya 959’s listeners had to say about being the first born in the podcast below.
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