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How we protect our children from abuse, by parents

By Chiamaka Jacobs
17 September 2016   |   3:52 am
Child abuse has become so rampant in our contemporary society that every eight out of 10 children has fallen victim of it. Aside sexual abuse, child abuse also comes in form of physical, emotional and parental torture.
Child Abuse

Child Abuse

Child abuse has become so rampant in our contemporary society that every eight out of 10 children has fallen victim of it. Aside sexual abuse, child abuse also comes in form of physical, emotional and parental torture.

Some parents in this interview with The Guardian shared their views on how they try to protect their children from abuse.

Mr. Uzoigwe Samuel, a trader in Ikotun area of Lagos said: “I will first educate my wards on the positive and negative side of sex, so that they will have a vast knowledge of what it is. So that when they are faced with predators, they’ll know what to do.

“Again, grooming them in line with the Word of God is important because the Word of God is word of wisdom. It helps in shaping their moral life.”

For Mr. Ubani Stanley a banker, the first mechanism is to make my children my best friends.

“ I properly and regularly check on my kids. It helps me know when anything wrong is happening to them and how best to detect it.

“Trusting someone with your children could be risky, but when my wife or me are away, I make sure the kids are in safe hands. For example, my elder sister whose kids are of the same age with my children, I can leave them at her place, because she can take good care of them

“In the case of emotional abuse, I don’t practice that at home because I grew up in a home where injuring a child’s feelings with words is not practiced. Even at times, when they are using negative words on themselves, I make sure I reprimand them because I know it can affect them psychologically.

Charity Okafor, a mother said: “I try as much as possible to curtail what they watch on televison, because it could influence them negatively. I am not just talking sexually, even emotionally. Even though, my children have electronic gadgets at home, I make sure I censor them, so that they won’t stream adult movies and fall into the wrong hands of predators on social media.

“As for neglect, I am not guilty of that because I give my children all the attention they need. I do homework with them. I also take them out on weekends. In fact, most of my time is being spent with them.”

Olamide Onwuka said: ‘I think it is possible for my children to fall victim because every child gets abused in one way or the other, even by their peers, it is called bullying.

“Well, I set rules and regulations at home. They know that once it is 6:00 pm, they have to be in the house. I am not saying they cannot fall victim other times, but it will reduce the risk. The truth is that it is very difficult to monitor the kids because most of their time is spent in school, sometimes things happen to them and they get scared of telling anybody for fear of being beaten.

“I have been a victim before and I couldn’t tell any body.”

Joseph Tamuo, another parent, said that he has heard countless cases of child abuse and it is something he don’t wish, his enemy. That is why he has security cameras in his home to monitor, not just his children, but affairs at home.

“Some people might take my method of monitoring my children as extreme, but it is not. I think it is the safest way because I know what their day-to-day activity is like. This is because most of the time, I am not always at home.

“Even before doing that, I make sure I educate them on child abuse, how to know an imminent predator trying to take advantage of them.

Gabriel Adekunle, banker, is of the view that it is the responsibility of the mother to take care of the children.

Adekunle said: “My wife is much closer to the children, but I play my own part in making sure that I tell my neighbours to keep a close eye on them.

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