Women
The Role Of Mothers In Girl Child Dev
The world over, the girl Child is being celebrated annually not just because of her importance, but because of her peculiar nature. The girl child is a female specie in the family that is faced with many life challenges.
Girl children need care and should be celebrated even on a daily basis. Every good parent should not wait until the recommended date to commemorate the “International Day of the Girl-Child” in a year before the girl is celebrated.
Every good parenting rests solely on the mother. The mother is the female parent in a family. Good parenting practices must be showcased by women in homes.
Bringing up the girlchild in the right way requires understanding the girl’s developmental stages. Choice of best styles of parenting tips is very important and effective use of the tips are also important.
Women should not be very authoritative when dealing with the girlchild. Deal with her in a manner that you allow her express herself.
Permitting her to attend programmes that are not just religious but programmes that will assist her in other life endeavours.
A mother should be involved in the activities of the girl child. Find out what she does on the computer and hand phones (pinging).
A mother can never neglect her girlchild due to misunderstanding no matter how serious that issue may be. She is still your child. That mother/child bond must be maintained.
We are talking about the adolescent age, where the girl has started realising what life is about. At this stage, self-esteem comes in. If the parent does not provide most of the needs of the girlchild, she may be tempted to start looking outside for assistance. That ego that she is getting mature is definitely going to be there.
There are pretty things she needs for upkeep. The choice of perfumery/toiletries comes in here. It is important that her undies are made available especially when the “monthly visitor” arrives. A mother must move a step further to ensure that her girl is clean.
At this stage, she may be a student without purchasing power. This is one of the greatest problems she has which the opposite sex does not. If it is a family that finds it difficult to have three-square meal per day, it exposes her to danger.
Disciplining the girl-child should be consistent, do not skip days and weeks and must be limited. Excess of it may not work well in her life.
As women, do not spend all the time on work and business and get the best result from them.
According to a child psychologist, the greatest problem in good parenting is time factor. If women give more time to their female children, they will be free from STDs, HIV/AIDs and unwanted pregnancy.
At the adolescent stage, communication must be prioritised. A mother should be able to identify the problems associated with the age, sit her down and teach the dos and don’ts of the game. There must be effective communication between the mother and daughter since they are of the same sex. This is very important because there is a limit to a discussion between a father and daughter.
The girl-child deserves to be listened to and every mother must be a good listener. If you do not listen carefully to your child, it can lead to communication breakdown.
Flexibility in the kind of decisions taken as a mother is important. In nurturing the adolescent girl, a mother should be willing to adjust her parenting styles.
Mothers should bear in mind that the femalechild has the right to be born well and wants to have a wholesome family life. She wants to be raised well to become a contributing member of the home and the society at large.
When you interact with them sometimes, you hear the kind of beautiful lives they want to live and achievements in future. These can only manifest when the girl is put on the right path. The girl children dream big when the foundation is strongly built.
Basic needs of food, clothing and in fact, basic education are very important if our girls have to be comfortable. Sometimes, you hear them grumbling if their needs are not available.
It we must get it right, the female children must play when necessary and enjoy their youth. We must protect them from danger because they are endangered species. When she falls into a prey, unwanted pregnancy can occur, so that is the reason why they must live in a peaceful and productive environment.
They must be cared for. Freedom is very important but to an extent.
A mother must continue to nurture the girlchild till she becomes a woman. Nurturing should not be at the adolescent stage we are celebrating annually but should start from birth through infancy, pre-school age to the adolescent stage.
At the crucial age of 11-18, even up to 20 years, the girl needs to be under parental authority as against her own wish.
In this era of higher need of academic pursuit and technology, the girl must excel. The girlchild must be moulded so as to be able to represent the parents well wherever she may find herself.
There are certain traits mothers need to know which manifest at the adolescent age. Some call it tempting age. In a family where everyone goes to church together or in a family car, but the adolescents in the house will like to go alone to church. A child who gets ready for school at 7am, suddenly stays in the bedroom till 7:30am and stands at the mirror for a couple of minutes and gets ready by 8am. That shows that maturity is setting in with a lot of changes.
A good mother has to be calm, loving and caring considering that it is a stage of contradiction of likes and dislikes, hate, love, fear and trust. If the foundation laid by mothers at the zero stage is solid, there will be mutual understanding.
Mothers must be careful at this stage because their reactions to changes may stop or hinder the girl or cause withdrawal. The girlchild may also decide to run out of home. In this case, mothers should use love to bring them back to reasoning because they become irrational sometimes.
When they begin to keep peers, mother must know whom their friends are. Although it is a team work for both parents, mothers should play prominent role because they are supreme in the girlchild’s upbringing.
The mother’s lifestyle plays an important role in the child’s life, so, teaching them sex education early especially with technology available is crucial. With this, you create intimacy.
A woman should take it as a priority to let the girl know the reason why she should cover her sensitive parts of her body to avoid rape which may lead to unwanted pregnancy.
By: Eunice Choko -Kayode
IVY-K Fashion by Igiebor Daddy Lucky, a Nigerian-born designer now based in the UK, has launched the latest menswear line, Dapper Man.
One of the collection’s strengths is its classic, clean aesthetic. Dapper Man delivers sharp, structured suits in a timeless black and white color scheme that exudes a sense of luxury and professionalism. The use of high-quality fabrics like wool and silk ensures that the suits not only look high-end but also feel luxurious to the wearer. The designer’s focus on detail is evident in the meticulous tailoring, with fitted blazers and crisp trousers forming the foundation of the collection.
Where IVY-K Fashion shines is in the subtle yet elegant touches. The inclusion of beads as embellishments on lapels and cuffs adds a unique flair, blending traditional craft with modern tailoring. This nod to African heritage gives the collection a distinct identity, offering something more personal and culturally significant than your standard menswear line.
However, despite the elegance of the Dapper Man collection, there is a lingering sense of missed opportunity. The black-and-white color palette, while classic, feels overly safe. In a fashion landscape where bold colors and daring patterns often make the strongest impact, the collection could benefit from incorporating more vibrant hues or experimenting with unconventional fabrics. Pushing the envelope with color or texture could elevate these designs from simply elegant to truly memorable.
In addition, while the tailoring of the blazers and trousers is immaculate, the collection lacks a sense of playfulness or modern edge that many contemporary menswear lines are embracing. The suits are undoubtedly stylish, but the collection as a whole leans heavily on tradition. Experimenting with asymmetrical cuts, bold patterns, or even layering could add an exciting dimension to Dapper Man. The challenge is to maintain the sleek sophistication of the collection while infusing it with a fresh, innovative spirit.
Another area that could use improvement is the overall cohesion of the collection. While the suits are well-crafted, there is a feeling of repetition across the pieces. More variation in design, such as different lapel styles, pocket configurations, or even bolder accessories, would give the collection greater diversity and visual interest.
In conclusion, Dapper Man by Igiebor Daddy Lucky showcases the designer’s strong grasp of classic tailoring and elegant design, but to truly capture the attention of a broader audience, IVY-K Fashion would benefit from more daring choices. By infusing the collection with bold colors, unexpected textures, and a more modern edge, Dapper Man could move from a well-crafted line to a trendsetting force in men’s fashion. With such a solid foundation, there’s no doubt that Igiebor Daddy Lucky has the potential to lead his brand toward greater heights
The trend of indecent dressing all in the name of fashion is fast becoming a norm in our generation and society at large. Most married women embrace this fashion as competition with single ladies.
Different scholars have given an in depth insight about dressing as a tool of communication. Non-verbal communication has been asserted as the communication between people by the means of signs or symbols. It conveys what we wish to disseminate to the public as either intentionally or not.
According to Paul Ekman and Michael Argyle, communication is carried out through what has been classified as “Presentational Code”. He listed nine codes of non-verbal communication, as body contact, facial expression, gestures, postures, eye movement, proximity, orientation, head nods and appearance.
This, being stated, married and single ladies should understand that their mode of dressing is communicative be it directly or indirectly as such body parts we call “private” are now being made public because of the trends or wearing of transparent dresses and this in turn calls on the attention of men who are weak and prone to illicit thoughts thus, resulting to most rape cases in our society.
This indecent dressing by most ladies has denied many their future husbands. The truth is that a man is attracted to his kind; his desires in marriage. It is often asserted that decency and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder, yet, in trending times of this 21st century, dress code and fashion in nudity form is gaining popularity.
This has become complicated as most men tend to toggle between their emotions (lust) and sanity (rationality) in terms of marriage, thereby setting a wrong foundation upon which most marriages are consummated.
On the other hand, most married women have embraced the trend of indecent dressing nipping it on the state of it being the choice dressing, approved by their spouses, leaving society with the question of what “responsible” man would prefer that the secrecy of the benefit of his marital vow has become the centre of attraction and viewership by the general public.
Hence, communicating with their dressing gas given licence to every male gender who is interested or attracted to what they see to make unsolicited sexual passes at them, which might be considered embarrassing.
At this juncture, it is important to state that ladies should dress decently knowing that they are the epitome of nation-building, they are nation-builders, character moulders and pacesetters not just in the lives of their families but to the society at large.
In most occasions, there are no clear border lines between the married women and the single ladies because of the rate of scanty dressing which has close the gap of differences.
Women and girls should embrace this call awakening to decent mode of dressing. Dresses that are meant to be worn indoors should remain indoors.
It is worrisome to see ladies wear shorts that are supposed to be worn in the living room on the streets without shame. This is an awakening call to our ladies, married and singles that the opposite sex do not expose their private body parts for the public. Sometimes, the ladies go about in the streets without wearing brazziers as to showcase their nipples.
The society should be sanitised of the menace of indecent dressing that is lurking and taking over the entire nooks and crannies of the society and the nation at large.
Let it be known that he or she is addressed in the manner he or she is dressed. There may be no room for a second impression. To the single ladies, your dressing decently will not stop you from meeting your Mr Right rather, it will increase your stake and place you on the list of most valued women in the society.
Dressing speaks louder than words.
Kate Chisom Isiocha
Isiocha is an OND final year student of Temple Gate Polytechnic.
