Mama G Advises Parents: Don’t Shield Children from Life’s Struggles

Mama G Advises Parents: Don’t Shield Children from Life’s Struggles

Veteran Nollywood actress Mama G recalls selling buns and chicken to survive before stardom, warns parents against over-pampering children.

Veteran Nollywood actress Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, has urged parents to resist the temptation to make life completely comfortable for their children, arguing that some struggle can prepare them for adulthood. Ozokwor said children who grow up without understanding the effort required to provide basic comforts may struggle to appreciate or sustain what their parents worked hard to build. “When you say, ‘I don’t want my children to suffer what I suffered when I was growing up,’ okay, that’s the best way to destroy your children,” she said. “I’m not saying allow them to suffer. What I’m saying is allow them to struggle. Go through the process.” The actress spoke in an interview with Femi Bassey TV on YouTube, shared on Wednesday, September 1, 2026. Reflecting on the difficult experiences that shaped her own journey to success, Ozokwor said the lesson was not simply about enduring hardship but learning responsibility through the process of working for what one wants.

She recalled that before becoming established in Nollywood, she sold food at movie locations and audition venues to raise money for transportation. “There was a time I was frying buns. When I first came into the industry, I would prepare chicken and dress it well. I would prepare buns for anyone you want to buy them.” According to her, the small-scale food business became one of the ways she supported herself as she pursued opportunities in the movie industry. She said she would take the food to audition places, where people would buy from her, and she would save the proceeds to cover her transportation and other expenses. The actress said her willingness to work and fend for herself was part of the resilience she developed from a young age. “I really struggled to get to where I am today. It wasn’t flowery; it wasn’t an easy thing. My life is full of spirituality, deep prayer. When others are sleeping, I am praying,” she said.

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Ozokwor also spoke about the sacrifices she made during her marriage, explaining that she never pressured her husband to provide the kind of lifestyle she saw other women enjoying. “Some women, when they get married, they tell their husbands, ‘This one bought a car for his wife, this one bought a house for his wife. What are you not doing?'” she said. According to the actress, she understood her husband and chose to work with what they had rather than compare him with other men. “I didn’t wait for my husband. I knew the kind of person he was. I studied my husband. I buttoned up and tightened my belt, and I struggled.” The situation became even more challenging when her husband battled serious health problems for several years. “Incidentally, he was sick for so many years. It was a horrible sickness — diabetes and hypertension together — and it was a struggle.” At a time, her children also grew up and began helping her run the household, which she believes helped shape them into the responsible adults they are today.

Using her personal experience, Ozokwor urged parents to resist the temptation to make life completely comfortable for their children, arguing that some struggle can prepare them for adulthood. She said children who grow up without understanding the effort required to provide basic comforts may struggle to appreciate or sustain what their parents worked hard to build. “When you say, ‘I don’t want my children to suffer what I suffered when I was growing up,’ okay, that’s the best way to destroy your children,” she said. “I’m not saying allow them to suffer. What I’m saying is allow them to struggle. Go through the process.” The actress said she deliberately ensured that her children also understood that comfort comes with responsibility and that family wealth should not become an excuse for laziness. She recalled that three of her sons helped with construction work while they were university students, stressing that she wanted them to understand the effort involved in creating the life they enjoyed. “I don’t say that your children will go through all the pains you went through, but let them go through little pains. Then they will know that it is not easy to make,” she said.

Ozokwor further warned parents against giving their children everything without teaching them how to preserve, multiply and work for what they receive. “But when you pamper them, they don’t come out to be anything,” she said. “Don’t get this on a platter of gold. It’s not easy. Your father built three houses, four houses and you think you can balance on eating it.” She also spoke about family wealth, saying children should not simply expect to inherit everything their parents worked for. “Keep the things that you have and let them know that you go get yours, this is mine,” she added. The actress revealed that she applied the same approach to her own son, telling him to work for his own home instead of assuming that her house belonged to him. “I told my son, my house isn’t yours, go and work for your own,” she said. Ozokwor said the lessons her children learned from watching her struggle have helped them become self-reliant, adding that they are now comfortable because they understand the sacrifices that went into building the family’s success. “My children know the pains of making life better and that’s why they are all comfortable now, struggling on their own,” she said.

Mama G Advises Parents: Don’t Shield Children from Life’s Struggles