By Mogaji Wole Arisekola. Have you noticed this in family circles? If you don’t, lend me your ears. In the beginning of family life, I mean the husband, wife, and their children, men are the first to be in control because of the nature of their responsibilities. He caters for the wife and children. He is the major provider in the family. The children are young, and their immediate needs are in the hands of their father. Both the mother and the children are at the mercy of their breadwinner, who is the head of the family. Men will come back home and charge at the kids if he discovers that they are not doing well academically or they failed to do their chores at home. That is the most interesting period in the lifetime of the father. He is in control. But unfortunately for him, the normal threatening words, “Wait for your father, I will report you to him,” create fear and build resentment in the minds of children. It creates a gap between the children and their father, which ...
The disagreement did not begin as something extraordinary. It started with words sharp, careless words spoken without regard for how deeply they could wound. One of them landed with enough force to change the air between us. Voices rose. Respect fell away. The house felt smaller, tighter, as though it could no longer contain what was unfolding inside it. Something broke that day not loudly, but deeply enough to leave unseen scars. The children had already gone to school. She left without waiting. She did not wait for the school bus to bring them home. She did not wait at the junction where a mother should stand, scanning the road for familiar faces. I was away on business, believing mistakenly that home was still intact. When I returned that evening, the house was not merely quiet. It was wrong. There were no school bags by the door. No hurried footsteps. No small voices calling, “Daddy.” My heart sank before my mind could make sense of it. Then my children appeared gentle ...