HOW TO BE A GOOD FATHER. 2
[Our child our well being]
Tolulope Hepsiba
Ø GIVE LOVING DISCIPLINE AND PRAISE:- Even
though one might feel angry or frustrated due to a child occasional bad behavior,
the measure of discipline to be administer should not be seen to be too brutish
but should be an expression of loving concern for the long term welfare of the
child. After all am not sure any loving dad would want to bring up a monster
for a child! Disciplining our child for wrong doing must not be that archaic
way of excessive beating or verbal abuse [any father doing this need to be
charged for domestic violence or physical abuse-pronto!]
Proper ways to
go about this includes: Advice [always effective-trust me],
Chastisement when needed [we don’t ve
to spear the rod and spoil our child prov 13v24], Education, Verbal Correction of Children regularly helps to boost
the child self esteem and also enriches the child’s character. A father who looks for opportunities to praise
his child helps to build his/her self confidence and motivate them not to give
up trying to do what is right at all times.
“Children
blossom when they are acknowledge and appreciated”
Ø APPLY GOD’s PRACTICAL WISDOM:- Not minding our
religious affiliation; whether Christians or Muslims our various holy books
should serve as a guide to the daily upbringing of our children.
Parents by extension- Fathers [we are the head of the
family] holds enormous leverage in terms of what they teach their children and
accordingly how their children grow up as adults, we must therefore be held
responsible for steering our children’s upbringing. The holy Quran admonish us
to be worthy caretaker to our children “Allah (SWT) will ask every caretaker
about the people under his care, and the man will be asked about the people of
his household” (Nasa’i, Abu Da’ud).
The holy Bible equally in proverbs 22v6 teaches us that “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he
will not depart from it”.
Fathers who have
heartfelt love for God can give their children a most precious heritage. After all
“men ought to pray and not to
faint”.
Ø BE A WORTHY ROLE MODEL:- We Must be mirror
through which our children view the outside word. The best way to teach our children to grow up
as responsible adults is through our lifestyle, manners, actions and deed. Findings over the year has shown that a
father that fails to meet his financial
obligations at home will end up bringing up very irresponsible and carefree
children, in other words we should be moderate in our lifestyle[no smoking/alcohol drinking in front of the
kids] no vulgar words or indecent dressing, be financially responsible to
the best of your ability[honestly wives
always understands] above all Honesty should always be our best policy[I bet no one wants to raise a child that
tell lies like an average Nigeria politricksians]
As fathers we
need to be more extraordinary because we don’t live for ourselves anymore; we
live for our family especially our kids. Finally let’s end our gist with the
word of a respected writer and psychologist “I have to be a role model of how
I want my child to be. I also have to be how I want them to see me: someone virtuous;
brave and loving. My relationship with their mother will shape their future
relationship with the opposite sex. For everything that live throws at us, I need
to be very flexible. I have to be physically; mentally and emotionally strong
for the tough times that they need me, for them I push myself to be the best
version of myself”
WE ARE OPEN
TO SUGGESTIONS AND CRITICISM!
