Raising children means managing four different personalities - Oforiwaah Queen

Politician and advocate Jennifer Oforiwaah Queen has urged parents, particularly single mothers, to appreciate the complexities of raising children, arguing that every child navigates multiple identities depending on their environment.

Speaking at the second edition of Convergence of Mothers organised by media personality MzGee, Oforiwaah Queen reflected on her journey of raising her now 22-year-old daughter while building a career in politics and overcoming personal challenges.

According to her, one of the greatest realities of parenting is recognising that children often present different versions of themselves in different settings.

"Every child has about four lives. The one they want you to see at home, the one they want you to see at church, the one they want you to see outside the home, and the life they live in school," she said.

She explained that parenting becomes even more demanding when a mother is raising a child largely on her own, with the responsibility of understanding and managing all these aspects of a child's life resting heavily on her shoulders.

Oforiwaah Queen recounted becoming a mother in her early twenties and described the emotional and psychological challenges that followed childbirth.

Looking back, she acknowledged that she struggled to understand some of the changes she was experiencing at the time, a situation many young mothers continue to face.

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At different stages, her daughter lived with relatives while she worked to establish herself professionally. The arrangement, she admitted, was emotionally difficult, often leaving her worried about her daughter's well-being.

"There were nights I would cry thinking about my daughter," she recalled.

Despite the challenges, Oforiwaah Queen said she remained intentional about being present in her daughter's life. Whenever possible, she took her daughter along on work trips and made deliberate efforts to build a close relationship with her as she grew older.

Balancing motherhood and politics was no easy task, she noted. At a time when female participation in politics was far less common, she had to juggle public service, side jobs and parenting responsibilities simultaneously.

"There were not many women in politics when I started," she said, explaining how she worked tirelessly to provide for her family while pursuing her ambitions.

Education also became a personal mission for her. Having grown up in an environment where some people doubted the value of educating girls, she was determined to create different opportunities for her daughter.

She revealed that her own experiences motivated her to continuously invest in self-development through university education, professional training and international certification programmes while raising her child.

"I did not want my daughter to experience some of the things I went through," she said.

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