Children Now Know More

And the parents won’t let them say it.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

The Bible says that in the last days, knowledge will increase.
What it didn’t say , but should have, in parentheses, is that this knowledge increase would create an awkward family dynamic where your mother (not mine☺️) is forwarding fake news and you, the child she raised, are now correcting her with sources and screenshots.

Because here’s the thing:
We now live in a world where the children often know more than the parents.
Not in worth. Not in wisdom. But in information, and sometimes, painfully, in clarity.

Your average 24-year-old now knows more about global markets, mental health, gender theory, dental insurance, and WhatsApp privacy settings than a whole council of uncles combined.

And yet, we can’t say it. Not freely. Not loudly.
Because we were raised in a culture where correcting an elder is almost as bad as stealing meat from the pot during a family fast.

In many African homes, respect is measured in silence, not sense.
You don’t question. You don’t challenge. You don’t even breathe too audibly when your father (not my dad☺️) is speaking nonsense about how autism is a Western spirit.

So we have a generation walking around with knowledge - sharp, nuanced, global, but unable to use it at home.
Because the culture says, “Don’t speak.”
And we, the children, are caught between honouring our parents and pretending we don’t see what we see.

We end up humbling ourselves into dysfunction.
Watching our communities recycle problems we already have solutions for.
Because correcting your elders is somehow seen as arrogance, not stewardship.

But here’s the twist:
We don’t actually want to disrespect our parents.
We just want a space where knowledge can flow upward too.
Where a son can say, “Mum, that thing you shared about COVID being a government ritual... maybe let’s not?”
Where a daughter can say, “Dad, I know you worked hard. But emotional availability isn’t a Western invention.”

We want dialogue.
Not disrespect.
Clarity, not chaos.
And sometimes, the most honourable thing a child can do is to kindly, carefully, correct.

Because knowledge was never meant to just increase.
It was meant to liberate.
But liberation can’t happen if culture insists on keeping the truth stuck in the throat of the younger generation.