Book Review: Parental Influence Matters
In the New York suburb of Long Island a Kenyan medical practitioner and father of three children (?) was clobbered to death in 2007 by his irate teenage son. Local news report alleged that the suspect accused his late father of ruling their home with an iron fist, making his and his sibling’s life a hell on earth. At the same time in Brooklyn, New York, a Nigerian father sat in jail facing possible deportation if convicted, after his son allegedly reported him in a 911 call to local authorities for possible child abuse. In my formative years I never dared question my father for any of his remarks or actions. "I would renounce you, kick you out of my home, and your mother will join you if she dares to raise any question," my father would say to my siblings and me. Yet, the last several decades up until the present were marked by tragic incidents and social scandals involving delinquency and youth violence. Whatever became of good and resolute parenting? In retrospect, some pundits are now wondering whether or not the people who rejected the age old injunction against "sparing the rod to spoil the child" and, instead, sold us the theory that disciplining a child would hurt the child were not involved in a deliberate scheme to betray the hope of parents in their kids and make society ungovernable. Are you recovering from the traumatic effect on the public psyche of youth violence, whether in the Americas or in Africa or elsewhere? Are you bothered by the harmful effects of cults on Nigerian University campuses and the fact that the same campuses are populated by young men who, supported by the quick wealth of easy going and affluent parents, engage in gun running that escalates violent crimes in our cities? Are you looking for someone with the resources to set things right? Well you do not have to worry anymore. Your yearnings may have been fulfilled because Caroline Thompson, nee Arit Emah, a mother of two daughters who now lives with her family in the Miami, Florida, USA, has just published "Parental Influence Matters." The author’s fourth book provides a refreshing resource to support healthy and good parenting, restore the dignity of “battered kids”, and resolve the anxiety of frustrated and often confused parents. Perrhaps the Akwa Ibom born author’s most readable work yet, "Parental Influence..." stands in sharp contrast to Thompson’s previous publications. Thompson began her literary career publishing "Cross River State at a Glance (1987)", a tourist delight about the Old Cross River State before the political bifurcation of the state into the present Cross River and Akwa Ibom State, where the author worked briefly with one of the national government establishments as a public relations officer. In 2001, after returning to the USA, the Spellman College graduate and single mother, published "Joy of Over-comers: Slavery from an African Perspective", a voluminous non-fiction and reflection on slavery and "its effect on present day-day Africans in both the motherland and abroad." "A Daughter’s Love", also a non-fiction and dedicated to Thompson’s late father, was published in 2005 with limited fanfare and success. Yet Thompson, known for her industriousness and creativity, would not relent. In "Parental Influence Matters", her latest work, published with the editorial contribution of Raymond Levy, whose photograph with President Bill Clinton is reproduced in the book, Thompson explores the values that under gird good parenting. In her characteristically audacious style, Thompson is less concerned about a child’s antics. She argues that it is every parent’s responsibility to mold and direct the destiny of their children in keeping with the biblical mandate, "train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22.6)". "I find it scary, and I find it hard to believe, that some parents sometimes object to teaching and imparting valuable discipline to young ones at home", she writes in repudiation of the care free approach of uncommitted parents. In his award winning publication, "Gifted Hands", Ben Carson, a pediatrician, born and reared in an inner city slum, recounts how the tenacity and prayer of his mother transformed him from a dunce into world renowned brain surgeon, which affirms Thompson’s perspective on the positive and beneficial effect of parental influence on the destiny of every child. Despite Thompon’s retrogression to self projection in the introductory chapter, this book is a remarkable improvement compared to her previous publications. Critics who have questioned Thompson’s literary abilities will find "Parental Influence Matters" quite refreshing and will also agree with the Editor’s conclusion that the "effort has been pleasurable, one that dear reader, will soon come to appreciate as well." "Parental Influence" addresses multiple groups of readers. It concludes with recommendations that any society committed to addressing youth delinquency may find beneficial; and parents committed to reducing the incident of deviant behaviors in their children may wish to embrace. The book is in nine chapters, each of which addresses both the imperative and the themes of faith, discipline, parental action, prayer, history, tradition, time, and training. "Parental Influence Matters" is a must reading for parents and a good gift for potential parents as well as newly weds. Copies may be ordered directly from the author by calling: Phone 1- 305-947-9009 or online.
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Parental Influence Matters
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