Where's that book?
When we talk about hazards in the home, our minds go to wet floors, sharp objects, tall and unsecured furniture, harmful chemicals, hot liquids, gas cookers, electricity outlets, and so on. Our concerns here are mostly physical but there’s more to worry about.
I heard about a young boy who got an indepth exposure to information about sex right in the safety of his home. He loves to read and randomly picked a book from the shelf one day when he was bored. He had exhausted all his books. Page by page, he was drawn into this mysterious world and being totally unprepared for this, his inquisitiveness got the better of him. He now knows a lot, actually too much.
His parents had tried to create a safe haven for him – parental control on DSTV, restricted and monitored internet access, a good school and a close watch on his association so they could influence him to dissociate from bad company. So far, they had done a good job but they were unaware of a hazard that existed right in their home.
You see, a number of couples have books they bought in their early years of marriage to educate them and enable them achieve sexual satisfaction and bliss in their union. Marriage counselors have these books too. At first there’s no problem, but as time goes by, kids are born and kids grow and learn to read two letter words, then three, then everything. Soon enough, they have their own books and you allocate some space to them on the bookshelf, with your books on the highest levels. But they grow, and these days they grow tall pretty quickly (or they climb on something) and one day they venture toward daddy’s books… and the rest is history.
I had a close call today. My 7 year old came to my room to chill while I was wondering what to write about today. Next thing, she picked up a book titled ‘A celebration of sex for newlyweds’ by Dr. Douglas Rosenau. I saw her just as she was opening the book and I said, ‘hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Drop that book NOW!’ There… something to write about and an assignment for me – Relocate all such books to a secure location and while reading them, temporarily store in a secure location.
Parents… beware of this hazard in the home.
So here’s my question to you – Where’s that book?
Picture credit: websitehome.co.uk