What are the Van der Walts and their KIDS up to this week?
With smiles and joyful eyes, Leané said she loves her brother's sense of humour. Jovan described his sister as a good and caring big sister who always looks after him.
Raising children is a blessing and one can expect challenges along the way, but managing both often leads to a beautiful experience.
Kempton’s Natasha and Hannes van der Walt seem to have found their balance in raising their daughter, Leané (16), and son, Jovan (12).
Also read: Meet the van der Walts: Caxton introduces new content pillars showcasing local family
Caxton Local Newspapers introduced five content categories to its websites and Express is unveiling each one through the lives of the Van der Walt family.
The content pillars are lifestyle, kids, motoring, property and finance. Last week the lifestyle category was unveiled where a dynamic and lovely lifestyle of the van der Walts was witnessed.
The family’s future generation is the focus for this week.
Leané and Jovan are raised with Christian values as their parents were brought up in the same kind of households.
“Both our fathers are pastors, so Christian values are very important to us. We decided, before we had children, that we will stick together as a team, even the children know that they can’t play us against each other because we decide together,” said Natasha while her husband nodded in agreement.
Watch:
• Schools
Leané is a learner at Hoërskool Kempton Park while her younger brother, Jovan, attends at her previous primary school, Laerskool Kruinsig.
“We know the quality of schooling at those schools and it is close to home which is why we decided to enroll them at those schools,” explained Hannes.
“It is important to not put more stress on the family of driving far for school especially when you consider extra mural activities. Our parents always said the best school is the one closest to your home.”
The junior family members said although they have accustomed to schooling during a global pandemic, it was not easy.
Also read: WATCH: Mr SA finalist, Hannes vd Walt, updates on #Shineon
“It was challenging to have self-discipline to actually sit down and do your work when you know there is no teacher that will check and see that the work is done the next day. We missed our friends but we got through it,” shared Leané while Jovan said, “It is different, and it was not easy adjusting to the new way of school.”
Similar sentiments were shared by their parents who said their fears of their children’s education have been eased.
“The thought of them not going to the next grades next year was a great concern because they worked hard throughout the year, even during lockdown, and they did very well and I would like my children to go to the next grades,” said Hannes.
“Everything worked out well in the education department and I am quite positive now,” to which Natasha agreed, adding, “It was a fear in the beginning, but we decided to push them to work hard to keep up to date. We are relieved that they are back at school now.”
Watch: What are the Van der Walts KIDS up to this week?
• Sibling Love
With smiles and joyful eyes, Leané said she loves her brother’s sense of humour and how fun and funny he is. Jovan described his sister as a good and caring big sister who always looks after him.
The siblings don’t allow conflicts and arguments between them to linger for long.
“We do have fights but after a while we get over it and it doesn’t take long,” said Leané.
Their parents, on the other hand, don’t get involved. “Most of the time we stay out of it and believe they should resolve their problems,” said the mother of the family.
“We do guide them and they know they should respect and love each other and that it’s okay to fight at times because we are family. We don’t get involved unless it is necessary,”
Hannes added.
Also read: Kemptonian reaches Mr SA Top 10
“The example the parents set for children on how they resolve problems or conflict is very important because it leads to how they (children) deal with conflict. My wife and I set a rule in the beginning of our marriage that we won’t go to sleep mad at each other, we don’t like conflict.”
The van der Walt family shares a strong bond and know each other very well which was also evident as they instantly shared that the daughter is similar to the dad and the son similar to the mother.
Natasha said, “We are stubborn and rebels,” while daughter and father uniformly said, “We are the dreamers, adaptable, loving and calm.”
• What do the children love the most about their parents?
“We love the relationship we have with them which is an open one and we can talk to them about anything. They are still young, not only physically but also in soul, and they can be young and fun with us. They are strict but not strict, they make jokes and are very cool,” shared the siblings.
• Cellphone policy and rules
The parents have installed an app on their children’s phones that block and unblock their activities on their phones and also control the times.
“The app automatically blocks their phones from doing anything except call the emergency line from a certain time at night until the next morning,” elaborated Natasha.
“Before we got the app, phones were taken out of their bedrooms at certain times. Phones are put away during family time as well.”
The parents also strongly believe that good, quality family time plays a massive role in raising children as it has a ripple effect on the children’s relationships with their friends, neighbours and members of the society.
“We often ask ourselves what we can do to make a change in South Africa and I think it starts with good family time to instil positive qualities and values into our children which they spread to their friends and others,” said Hannes.
“Life is busy, we don’t always get time to talk with our children. We need to engage and talk to our children which helps them open up to us about what goes on in their lives,” concluded Natasha.
Although the couple told Express that there is no manual in raising children and that they are doing their best as they go along, they seem to be on the right track.
Keep an eye on Kempton Express to follow the van der Walts in each of these categories as a new one will be introduced in the coming weeks.
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— Cindy Shabangu (@ShabanguCasilda) October 23, 2020
