Teacher looks to bridge mom-daughter gap

Glenmuir High School teacher Akeano Thelwell is hoping to bridge a huge gap in mother-daughter relationship through the upcoming Mother and Daughter Brunch.

Thelwell, who is also the founder of Shades of Consciousness, a programme that is geared at removing some of the negatives associated with skin colour, said that through her interactions with young girls, she realised there is a great need for that kind of brunch.

She said that in her conversations with many young girls, she realised that many of them are not sharing things as they should with their mothers.

"I interact with a lot of the girls. They are basically saying they don't want to talk to mommy, mommy doesn't understand. Mommy is from a different era and mommy would just embarrass us, and mommy is just miserable," she said, highlighting some of the feedback.

Thelwell said that when she encouraged them to share what they told her, she realised that they are not opening up on the many issues they have.

"Some of them have so many issues that they will talk about. They will open up and they will tell you so many things," she said.

Thelwell noted that youth - especially young girls - are grappling with many things, including biological and psychological changes.

Thelwell stressed the importance of girls being able to 'vibe' with their mothers and open up about all their issues.

Speaking on the event, which is slated to take place on Friday, April 26, at Clarendon Park, Thelwell said mothers are excited about it, and some have even confessed that they are looking forward to bonding with their daughters.

"A lot of us have husbands and we remember to send them text messages during the day, but we don't do that with our daughters," she noted.

Thelwell said that social media, added to the climate of European and American cultures, has seeped into, and eroded, Jamaica's culture.

"So it is a different era, and we want the daughters to understand that mommies were once daughters; and we want the mothers to understand that these children are different from who they were, and so we want to bring them together," Thelwell said.