Fathers are the pillars of our families, and in a broader view, society. As the breadwinners by default, they act as the financier-in-chief of the family. Providing enough funds needed to school the kids, feed, clothe and shelter the family. Notwithstanding the state of the economy. In most cases, he is the first to leave the house for work and the last to come back, not as a hobby, but a means by which he meets his primary fatherly responsibilities, which is providing the financial needs of the family.
But aside acting as the family's ATM, fathers have over time, been the chief disciplinarian in most families. They instill morality and improve upon the ethics of the children. They take no bullshit at all. When you give them a bullshit, you get a bull's hit. Yes, they use the cane. But the reason in retrospect is more often than not, justified.
When they err, kids often find a way to hack into the heart of their mothers and go scot-free. But a father's heart is fortified with firewalls, you can't hack into it, play with their emotions and get around a crime unpunished. Even the mothers are well aware of this, sometimes when the child goes "out of gear", they threaten to report that child to the father. "Chiboy, so you don't want to wash your clothes, don't worry your daddy will soon be back..." After that, as if under spell, Chiboy goes to wash his clothes pronto.
When you walk up to a kid in the street and try to hoodwink him/her into doing something wrong, you feel the father's discipline at play when s/he declines and responds:
"No, my dad will be mad at me"
Or when you ask a kid from the street I grew up in, the response is identical:
"No o, my Papa go shout"
The fear of the Father comes outrightly into play. It has subconsciously installed moral uprightness in the minds of such kid, even when eyes are not watching.
In a family where the father is up to par, a child dares not leave the house without permission and come back late at night. If by chance or maybe by sheer adventure the child leaves the house without permission, and fate hooks up with him in the form of traffic jam or something, and he or she is still late outside, the fear of the father will continue to taunt him or her from wherever, to the door of their apartment.
If you find a wayward kid in the street, look at the society of such kid but before then, look into the family and more specifically, the father.
The father's duty cannot be overemphasized, despite their being strict and authoritative, they also find a balance by being affectionate and protective. It is not an easy role if you ask me.
Happy father's day to my dad and all the fathers out there.
Dads are amazing.
God bless my dad.
