Telkom's parenting woes

Last week's financial presentations by Telkom and partly-owned subsidiary Vodacom highlight the difficulties of raising a child when the parents are at odds with each other.

Parents will often share their concerns about how they are doing in the parenting stakes and how they wish the baby had come with a manual. And that's when Mom and Dad are still together - it's far more difficult when the parents split up.

My children, at four and two, are admittedly a lot younger than teenager Vodacom. Nevertheless, I have found a few invaluable parenting resources which show Telkom is not alone in its parenting woes.

An article on Health24 reports children of divorced parents are nearly twice as likely to be prescribed Ritalin - the drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Certainly, Vodacom cannot be accused of having attention problems, but it is definitely very active in new endeavours. Some of these endeavours are causing problems for Telkom.

Another article on Health24 has me wondering whether Vodacom could have developed its appetite for aggressive growth from its parent. Quoting an Australian study, the article says researchers have found that fathers with permissive or disengaged parenting styles are more likely to have overweight children.

Of course, Telkom does not want to curb Vodacom's appetite; all the same I think it would prefer it if the teenager was not scoffing from the parental plate.

The BBC's parenting portal notes that it can often be difficult to communicate with teenagers. Part of this comes from the child's need for greater privacy - and possibly independence - however, it says communication is the key to good family relationships.

But what if the separated parents are encouraging opposing strategies?

Perhaps Telkom and Vodafone need to take a "night out" and find a common thread in what their hopes are for Vodacom.

Kimberly Guest, senior journalist, ITWeb

Both Vodafone and Telkom benefit greatly from Vodacom's performance. All the same, Telkom is beginning to look like the tired and battered mom on the sidelines trying to hold things together.

The experts have some advice for the troubled parent. The first being: provide a united front.

Perhaps Telkom and Vodafone need to take a "night out" and find a common thread in what their hopes are for Vodacom. Continually battling against each other will only result in disruption for all players involved and besides, harmony is a far more constructive state than acrimony.

Of course, it may be too late for discussions on good family relations. Telkom is hinting it is tired with this particular co-parenting situation and may decide to introduce a new child to the family.

Introducing a new child means Telkom can implement its own parenting strategies without the interference of others. However, it will have to negotiate the trials and tribulations of sleepless nights, dirty nappies and early education before the baby will be ready to walk and take on the world.