Lifetouchcare Parenting

With the increase in rate of crimes, rapes and other social vices among our youths, there is need for us parents to obey the clarion calls and wake up to our responsibilities of protecting our children, to be in control and take charge of our parenting duties. Every child deserves protection!

As published in today’s newspaper with the headline: Admirer rapes, dumps Ogun teenager in pit.
Published May 1, 2020

Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta

A 28-year-old man, Godday Robinson, has been arrested by the men of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl into a state of unconsciousness and throwing her into a pit.

Robinson was reported to have dragged his victim into the bush, while she was returning home from work and raped her for rebuffing his love advances.

The incident occurred at Agbara in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested on April 24, 2020, after the victim regained consciousness in the pit and was rushed to a hospital.

The PPRO explained that the suspect was arrested following a report received by policemen attached to the Agbara Area Command that a young lady was lying unconscious in a 10-feet deep fit in the bush.

Oyeyemi said, “Upon the report by good Samaritans, the Area Commander detailed his men to the scene, where the young lady was rescued with the help of members of the public and she was quickly taken to hospital.

“Having regained consciousness, the victim explained to the police that on April 22, 2020, while was coming from night duty, which she performed in the company where she works, the suspect, who had been making advances to her, accosted her, capitalised on the isolated nature of the area and dragged her into the bush, where he raped her.”

Robinson was also accused of dispossessing his victim of her Galaxy Samsung phone valued at N85,000 and strangulating her until she passed out.

Oyeyemi stated, “Having believed that she was dead, he dragged her further into the bush and dumped her in a pit.

“After sometime, she came back to life and started shouting for help.

“On the strength of her explanation, the Area Commander, ACP Bolanle Muritala, gave an order to his detectives that the suspect must be traced and apprehended.

“The detectives swung into action immediately, traced the suspect and got him arrested.

“On interrogation, the suspect made a confessional statement and owned up to the crime and blamed it on the devil.”

The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Kenneth Ebrimson, had ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and diligent prosecution.

Type of Father Every Child Pray for
© Kolawole Oluwatope

Being a father is never an easy task. It is not easy being a father. Someone sometimes said, from his personal thought and experience, he noted that every child goes through for amazing stages in life where they first call father “Da-Da, second “Daddy” third as the child grow big he or she call “Dad” and last stage is a stage where the child call to ask for money! Isn’t that funny? At that stage he or she is now a big boy or girl.

These four stages are charming in the life of a child and this help in categorizing fathers into four major distinctive types which I will love to mention today. Let us quickly reveal each type.

1. “BABA NO DEY” – Absentee Father:- This is the type of father who will never stop dis-appointing in his main responsibility. The world is raising a (responsible – irresponsible) a fatherless generation. Watch the use of my word if there is anything like that “Responsible – irresponsible father”. They are responsible in the area of providing school fees but they are not aware of what class the children are talk less of knowing anything about their academic improvement. They are never present in the life of their children and out of the picture.

There are many reasons why children don’t have a father in their lives. Research findings said that, each day, 20 million children wake up without a father in their home. Isn’t that shocking? My heart breaks for the fatherless generation that is being raised in our midst.
I was told of a father who was surprised to see his 1 – year -few months – old son walking; he was never there when the child was struggling with the first step and others. Yet they lived in the same house; no off day when it comes to work – workaholic father.
In case we don’t know, studies show that the absence of the father expresses itself in male children in two very different ways: Increased aggressiveness and greater manifestations of traits in a boy that are more often associated with feminine nature, behavior, mannerism, style, or gender roles rather than with masculine nature. We have some many of people like that in our society.
Aside these; cases of rapists about 60 percent from single-parent homes, 75 percent suicide cases were from broken homes. Girls become sexually active fast and more likely to have out-of-wedlock children.
I pray that God will raise men that we work until the hearts of the fathers are turned back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers; so that destruction will not strike our land. Malachi 4:6, Luke 1:17

2. “BABA NA MISTAKE” – The Inexperienced Father :- The inexperienced father is present at home unlike “baba no dey” kind of Father, but he is short of ideas and what next to do. He is not in connection with his children, not attending to needs, or their interests. He saw being present at home as normal routine but not knowing his roles and what to do when it comes to fathering. No connection at all!
King Sunny Ade alongside with Onyeka Onwenu sang a song some time ago;
Song – Having baby no be joke o,
You go feed them,
You go give them clothes,
Give them LOVE TOO
If you never ready to carry the load o….
Help me finish the song.Lol
The song simply mean, if you cannot play the role, do not play the game!
And as a result of his lack of experience, there is significant conflict between him and the children. The outcome of this is that his heart o is turned against the heart of his children; and this leads to destructions.

3. “BABA WEY DEY THERE” – Authentic Father :- This is the father “wey in head dey there”. Do you remember this popular advert of one of the brand of noddles; Mama do good ooo, she do good!
The Authentic Father is home, connected with his children, friendly, fond of his children, involving in their academics, play games together with his team, and is very present in their lives but no any spiritual impact in the lives of the children.
The Authentic Father establishes security for his children, provides for them, is an admirer of his children, restraints his children, correct his children in love and is seeking and building a long-lasting relationship with his children.
The Authentic Fathers do not annoy the children; but never bring them up in the training and instruction of God. Ephesian 6:4.
With more of Authentic Fathers there is hope of good world.

4. “BABA SUPER” – A Superhero Father :- He is an Extra Ordinary and Excellent Father. Let me qualify him the more with these adjectives: outstanding, exceptional, excellent, tremendous father etc. Such a father is God kind of father.
God said,” shall He keep back from Abraham what He was planned to do? Abraham is going to become great and large nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I have settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe god’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that god can complete in Abraham what he promised him.” Genesis 18:17 – 19.
Mark the bolded sentences! The “Ogbonge” Fathers are not just authentic, home, not a home lesson teacher, nor a give us our daily bread father. No! it goes beyond that! An Excellent Father is typical example of Father of Faith Abraham in who God has confidence in that surely he will introduce his children to His way; he seeks for the salvation of his children. He is a lover of God and he will ensure that the children and the family as well love God.
An Excellent Father brings Jesus into his marriage, parenting, work, and hobbies and also brings his marriage, parenting, work, and hobbies to Jesus. The Excellent Father seeks repeated encounters with Jesus.
God is looking for that Excellent Father in every man. He is looking for fathers that will teach their children and grow them in His way.
We all need to pray and ask for grace to be an Excellent Father who will leave behind good legacy of faith. What you are doing does matter, and growing as a father is vital in leading your children today.

Baby rescued from uncompleted building in Abia

Sunday Nwakanma, Umuahia

Officials of the gender-based violence response team of the Vicar Hope Foundation, Umuahia, have rescued a two-year-old child suspected to have been locked up for several days in an uncompleted building at the Zone 5 Agbama Housing Estate, Umuahia, Abia State.

The baby, whose name could not be ascertained as of the time of rescue, looked exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished, perhaps haven gone several days without food or water.

According to the Programme Manager, Vicar Hope Foundation, Mr Raymond Ukwa, the organisation received a call on Saturday, April 25, 2020, from landlords in the area that a child had been locked up in an uncompleted building.

Ukwa said working in line with well-established protocols on intervention, the foundation reported the incident to the Umuahia Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Ekeinde Odion, who detailed officers to break into the building so that the child could be rescued.

“As a foundation, we believe in creating a safe environment for our children; a lot of deaths of children every year occur because of negligence and preventable diseases; it’s our duty to ensure that we reduce these numbers and protect the right to life of every child,” he stated.

Neighbours, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the child’s parents were in the habit of locking him up for days without food or water, adding that they sometime pass food through a crack in the wall of the building to him.

The Assistant Secretary, Board of Trustees of the foundation, Mr Chika Ojiegbe, said the child was examined by medical personnel and taken to a safe dwelling, while relevant authorities had commenced investigation into the circumstances surrounding his abandonment in the uncompleted building.

The state Commissioner for the Nigerian Girls’ Guild Association, Mrs Queen Nwarie, commended the founder of the Vicar Hope Foundation and wife of the state governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu, for rescuing the child.

Nwarie said the quick response of the foundation made the difference between life and death for the toddler.

Copyright PUNCH.

12 different ways to connect with your child in less than 5 minutes

By Kolawole Oluwatope

We seem to be busier with work and other distractions in our lives than ever before, which can make it challenging to remain connected with our youngsters. Kids will inevitably settle towards whatever has the most important influence in their lives. If you are doing not forge a robust reference to your children, they’re going to look to make a robust reference to something else. That other strong connection can have a nasty effect, whether it’s the poor influence of bad friends or the debilitating effects of paying an excessive amount of time with technology.

But how are you able to forge a robust reference to your children once you are busy? Fortunately, you don’t have to plan some overpriced and annoying trip to Amusement park to remain connected. Here are 12 easy ways in which are often done within an area of 5 minutes or less to point out what proportion you value your kid.

1. Read a short story to your childCreate a story time with your child, make it a daily ritual. I guess many of us still remember the NTA network program Tales by Moonlight on Sunday afternoon. Children do enjoy stories. By making this a daily ritual, you’ will trigger a love for reading and spend some quality time together every single day.

2. Offer a heart-felt hugLots of good comes from a hug, and it doesn’t even take five minutes! Hugging is a therapy is definitely a powerful way of healing. Research shows that hugging is extremely effective at healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress.

3. Give full and undivided attention to your childMost of the time your child does not need your 24 hours but 5 minutes of full attention will go a long way in strengthening your connection.. You don’t want the child to feel less important right? Leave everything for just five minutes and listen to the child giving him undivided attention.

4. Relate their strong emotion with empathyEmpathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. When we can sit with our children through their big feelings, they get the message “I matter” or “I’m understood” and that fosters a deeper connection to us. Never shut them off!

5. Play a gamePlay is mentally and physically stimulating for your Kids and it’s the perfect way for you to bond. But play doesn’t always come naturally to all children. Play games: board games together, run around the house, do hide and seek together. Your child will never forget the memories.

6. Do dance competitionThis makes a fun way to get your child fit without them even knowing it. It keeps them active and engaged, and ensures that they are going to be getting fit and into the finest shape possible.

7. Don’t turn your house to office – unleash your sense of humorHome is different from office, so don’t be too serious. Take time to tell jokes to your child either funny or not, your child will enjoy them. Kids with a well-developed sense of humor are happier and more optimistic, have higher self-esteem, and can handle differences well. Laughter equals connection.

8. End the day with special time before bedLie beside your child or sit at the end of the bed and just spend a few minutes talking or giving a back rub. And if possible tell them a bed time stories.9. Visit their worldGet involved in something that your kid is interested in. Ask questions. When we show kids that we care about the things they care about, they feel connected

10. Do a chore together and make it funHonestly most children don’t like chores but this can be a great way to come together as a family, do the things you need to do, and also spend time together. There’s no reason chores have to be a solo activity. It has to get done anyway, so you may as well use the time wisely and play while you work!

11. Engage them in family photo albums
Looking back at old memories and cheeky baby smiles is an instant mood booster and a great way to spend quality time with your loved one.

12. Pray with your child No matter how old your children are, it’s never too late to begin praying with them. The first things we want to pray about with child is for them to know that Jesus Christ is our Lord.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton