IN any human society the birth of a child in a family is greeted with jubilations, happiness and love that is beyond measure.
At times the parents are rewarded and visitors throng the family including neighbours, relatives and friends to the extent of bringing gifts.
What a good day! As the baby grows up, the parents are tasked to provide for him all basic necessities and keep him from all sorts of abuse ranging from physical, sexual, and emotion.
In this case the parent(s) role is to take care of their child’s biological needs, providing physical care in terms of proper food, fresh air, good lighting, enough sleep, and recreation.
To raise up a child properly, the duties aren’t limited to food, shelter and protection, but also require teaching and educating them, and to shape their knowledge and character, and prepare them to face the real world in many aspects.
The list may be long backed up also by law as legal right, duty and power bestowed on such a parent, because in actual sense, no such baby applied for his/her birth and hence must be nurtured by the parent.
However, in some instances, the very people (adult parents) turn to be their abusers, which beg the question, where should, therefore, be the best refuge for them to live and grow up in this world?
It is unfortunate that some parents be they biological, guardians and the like, instead of performing their parental obligations, turn to neglect, verbally, psychological and emotionally abuse the children. However, one major hurdle to stopping child abuse is the difficulty of uncovering it.
That’s why the State has enacted mandatory reporting requirements for certain professions. These laws apply primarily to people who have regular contact with children or who are most likely to discover abuse or neglect – such as teachers, doctors, nurses and social workers.
To ensure that children are safe from home to school, market and shop, the public should unite as one body to be their responsible parents.
This should involve community leaders, clergy, the public and schools developing a culture of meeting their needs so that they grow up as patriotic and future responsible citizens.
Children should be taught strategies to protect them from all sorts of abuses, including encouraging them to expose those who abuse them, whether one is a relative or not.
Equally, they should be encouraged to report any sign of abuse and neglect and in this case, report to any Police Station or confide to a close friend, if one is finding it difficult to break the silence.
