Media personality Mwalimu Rachel has revealed her parenting style that is causing friction with her twelve-year-old son.
The radio personality revealed that she made a conscious decision not to buy her son a smartphone despite his peers having one, a decision that he is not comfortable with.
Highlighting the worrying trend that she has observed with children having smartphones and accessing social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, Rachel detailed that her approach is very different as a parent.
She shared an instance when she invited children to a party but noted that they were glued to their phones, with some requesting chargers.
‘I love these kids wazazi sina ubaya. I invited them over to a party; watu walikuwa wanaomba charger, watu at some point wanakaa chini wanaangalia TikTok na hizi YouTube Shorts,” she narrated on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
This loosely translates to: I invited them to a party, and they were asking for chargers. At some point, some of them sat down to concentrate on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.”
Mwalimu Rachel optimistic
Despite her son not being okay with the decision, Mwalimu Rachel has remained firm, asserting that in the future, her son will appreciate her decision once he understands the reasons behind her action.
“One day you will remember me and say, ‘Mama, thank you,’” she added.
The media personality admitted that her son hates her a little for the bold decision and her approach to parenting and at one point approached the house-help seeking to know whether she had provided smartphones to her children.
“The other day, imagine, alikuwa anauliza mfanyikazi because he thought I was very unfair,” she added.
“Let me ask you, do your kids have smartphones?” The minor asked, to which she responded, “Yes.”
Lydia Wanjiru’s take
A number of celebrities have, in the recent past, given their take on minors accessing social media platforms and having smartphones.
Content creator Lydia Wanjiru recently expressed concern over the late Betty Bayo’s daughter, Sky, and her presence on social media.
She supported the idea that Sky should stay away from the internet until she is an adult, noting that the minor was not ready to answer some of the questions she was facing online.
“I don’t want to ask what her close family thinks about her presence online and how they handle such situations where she has to explain such things herself,” she said.
