Editorial: Father’s Day – A reminder of parental responsibility

Tomorrow, Sunday, June 21, will be marked in many countries of the world as Father’s Day, a day set aside to focus on the role of fathers in parenting.

The father figure is a God-given responsibility, just as motherhood because the two are duty bound, not only to raise children but to cater for them and bring them up as responsible and worthy members of society.

However, the day set aside to acknowledge the role played in society by fathers has always been downplayed by society, while each Mother’s Day has attracted so much attention in the media and all over the world.

This trend has continued for the simple reason that whereas mothers have always tried to play their God-given roles, even under the most trying circumstances, fathers have most often reneged on their duties after contributing to bringing children into the world.

Also, some fathers, after divorce, stop catering for children they have had in the marriage, thus leaving the financial support for protecting, feeding, educating, clothing and housing on the mothers.

Other fathers who remain married become very frivolous in their spending when they make some more money, spending on   things other than the upkeep of their children and the home in general.

Children who are neglected thus tend to find their own means of survival and often fall into bad company that corrupts them  as they grow up.

Child maintenance issues are rife in our courts and many children have ended up being catered for by the Department of Social Welfare, just because their fathers have neglected them.

Often, because the fathers are the breadwinners, the mothers, most of whom are housewives, have no other option than to seek help elsewhere in raising the children or simply dump them in children’s homes and orphanages.

Our communities are filled with social misfits, primarily because parents, especially fathers, have neglected their role of instilling discipline in their children. It has been proven in many studies that wherever there have been absentee or unconcerned fathers, the result has been wayward children, especially the males.

It is the fathers who discipline, rebuke and correct children and direct them to have a focus in life. Where these are not done, society only breeds street children, armed robbers, thugs, pickpockets, petty thieves and youth who only engage in negative practices.

To curtail the social burden on the government, fathers need to be at home to guide their children and offer the necessary counselling that would mould them into responsible and respected citizens.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, urges fathers to stand and be counted, by fulfilling their sacred duty of helping to raise their children.

We do not however suggest that all men who have children are not playing their fatherly roles as expected of them. Indeed, there are those who have received continuous praise from their children for their role in raising them to become respected members of society.

We need more of such responsible fathers in society more than ever, to provide guidance for the country’s teeming youth and also help reduce the incidence of vagabonds, street children and criminals, which often is suggestive of failed homes.

It is only then that we can meaningfully mark Father’s Day in Ghana and children will not rebuke their fathers on radio for being irresponsible.