Papa Solo, A Reminder That Your Children Are Watching

They called him 'Solo' which is an abbreviation of his name 'Solomon'. He was lanky and had this look that seemed to say 'dare me if you can'. 
Solo was the terror of our neighborhood, he bullied little children, stole from his Mum and insulted anyone that dared to call him to order. 
His father was a Carpenter who had children from several women.  He was popularly known as 'Papa Solo'.
Papa Solo chased anything in skirts and spent most evenings with his friends drinking, arguing and laughing. 
Papa Solo was not a drunk but he prized his evening get-together with his friends above anything else and God help you if you tried to interfere. 
Mama Solo tried it once. She wanted to tell him that Solo was being a Truant. That he had stayed away from school for over a week though he left home everyday under the pretext of going to school. 
Papa Solo asked her to wait till morning and when she insisted that he paid attention to what she was saying, she got a 'slap of life'. 
You know the kind that leaves one speechless and causes the head to spin making you see stars...yes, that kind. 
The slap made Mama Solo dumb for at least 60secs, she just stood there with tears streaming down her face. 
When she was finally able to talk, all she could mutter was 'na God go punish you, I go carry my children run leave you' and she stormed off, defeated and embarrassed. 

You see Papa Solo was comfortable enough to care for his family, he wasn't a 'poor man'. He was a Landlord and was friendly to his tenants and neighbours but he failed in his duty as a Father. 

All these happened years ago and Solo has grown into a man. He is now a Bus Conductor and has 2 children from 2 different girls.

He has grown to be like his Father.

The Bible clearly instructs us to 'train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it' - Proverbs 22:6, the roles of fathers in the lives of children can therefore not be over emphasized.

Fathers are influencers.

Fathers are the first examples for daughters of what a man ought to be and are role models for their sons. 
Experts have said that most women look out for men who have similar traits as their dads when they start dating while the boys oftentimes grow up to be just like their fathers. As such if a Father is patient, caring and loving chances are his son would be just that while a daughter will look out for such traits in a man. 
It is therefore not enough to birth children, you ought to have a vision for how their lives will be and be there to guide and help them live it out. 
English Philosopher John Locke opined that the mind at birth is like a Tabula Rasa i.e. a blank slate as such whatever is imprinted on it stays. 
That is the power a Father has, he leads, influences and can decide how his child's life will turn out. This should not be taken for granted.
A child who feels the protection and presence of his father will definitely be more secure, confident and stable than a child who never had a good father figure. 
You therefore have to stand up for your children, pray for them even while they are in the womb, speak into their lives, protect them, keep your promises to them and instruct them in the right path.
Know that children learn by observation and imitation as such they will do more of what you do and not what you say...live out what you say you believe. 
Remember that boys will be boys and girls will be girls until someone teaches them to be more - be that person for your child or someone else will.