Most mothers are highly protective of their daughters. The reason is obvious. They are conscious of the fact that female children are fragile, and they need to handle them with care. Many of us have heard many ugly stories of how some girls were raped by boys, who sometimes were their school mates or close relations such as uncles, cousins et cetera, and how some shameless men had abused young girls in time past. All such stories can create fear in the heart of mothers because every mother wants the best things in life to happen to her girl-child.
In order to prevent their daughters from men who may want to take undue advantage of them, some mothers turn out to be very tough on their daughters. It’s good to exercise discipline, but let it be motivated by love. Be a friend to your girl child, and in fact become her best friend. I was in a cab one day and I overheard a woman telling her friend that, "I told my daughter, I am not your friend, I am your mother." Well, I guess she had her reasons for saying that, but I am afraid, she may lose the confidence of that daughter. She may never open up to her mother even while in crisis. psychologically, she has been injured by that statement.
Some Christian mothers think that once they conduct morning devotions as a family, go for church services with the children, automatically the children should embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Sorry, it is not always so. Prayerfully and personally introduce your child to Jesus Christ, the Saviour. Some of the children even follow you to church just to satisfy you and be free of your many questions. Have you cared to find out what they do in church?
During a Sunday service, a teenage girl sat next to me and was very busy on her phone. Sometimes, one assumes that the fellow may be reading the bible using the phone, but that day I noticed that she was actually chatting. I then asked her what she was doing and like an innocent child she said, “I am chatting with my brother.” I asked her further, “Where is he?” and she replied, “He is overseas.” I was careful not to be hard on her, but I simply warned her that we are in the presence of God, so she should stop chatting. Thank God she listened to an elder’s warning. She stopped and said, “Thank you ma.” Some others could be chatting with some boys who could easily deceive them into nefarious activities.
Mother, give your daughter more time. Talk as friends, do a lot of gists together, laugh together, tell her life stories about yourself and others. Tell her about life and how wicked it can be sometimes, and as she listens to you, encourage her to ask you questions, and gently provide her with helpful answers. Allow her to share her thoughts and fears with you. In fact let her be aware that some bad fathers had abused their daughters, and some even impregnated their own daughters. Recently on social media, a woman was heart-broken as she found out that her two daughters were impregnated by her son, who is their own brother. What a sad story!
Mother, be the first person to teach your daughter about sex education. Don’t wait until she learns the wrong things from outsiders. Teach her about human anatomy, and instil confidence in her to resist any careless touch of any part of her body by the opposite sex. When she is still young, between ages 2 and 6 or thereabout, tell her not to sit on the laps of boys and men, and encourage her to report to you any male that tries to force her into doing that. You know the danger as an adult, but she doesn’t know, please protect her.
Remember, dear Mother, in trying to train this precious gift of God, be gentle and be loving. If she cannot discern love through your actions, she can turn rebellious once she leaves the confines of your home and may decide to go against all your orders. This is why it is very important to pray to God to save the lives of these young ones. May God help all mothers to be godly examples to their children. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment