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She hung her head and remained still. Infact, she had sat through the entire court proceedings like one in a trance. No emotion showed on her face but her heart was in turmoil. She hardly heard the lawyers as they argued their case. She kept asking herself over and over,''how did I get here?'' If she were to answer the question, she would have said that the journey to that courtroom began three months ago when her husband's phone rang and he was told that their only son was held in detention for alleged involvement in cult activities and armed robbery. ''There must be a mistake,'' she had said to her husband when the news got to them. But she was proved wrong. Then began the endless trips to the police station, the lawyer's office and the court. She never believed it will ever come to such a sordid end. They could not, even with the best lawyer, snatch their son from the hands of the law. His crime was too heinous and the evidences too clear to be concealed.
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As she sat there, shame and sorrow washed over her. She felt like she was stripped of everything that mattered in life. Right then, all the wealth she and her husband amassed over the years, meant nothing to her; now, she could give away everything to have her son back. But it was too late. This is not surprising. No woman whose child had derailed can have a true sense of fulfilment.
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Meanwhile, Mrs. Magnus' journey to yhe courtroom did not just begin three months back as she believed. It began years ago when her son was a little tot, born the only male among four children, he was over indulged and spoilt. The common belief in their culture that sons are more important than daughters has aided in the over pampering of the boy, their only boy. They provided everything that he wanted. When negative reports began to come from his teachers at school, they made excuses for their child and blamed the teachers. Once when he was suspended from school for a gross misconduct, his parents were so annoyed with the management that they transfered him to another school. He grew up a proud, self-centred bully. Infact, he thought the world revolved around him. It is no wonder that as soon as he got into higher institution, he joined a bad gang.
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Mrs. Magnus would be shocked if someone were to tell her that she contributed to the plight of her child, infactm that she led him by the hand into the prison cell. She, like many mothers today, trifle with the art of motherhood. They do not handle child training with the seriousness it deserves
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The way you are training that child now, what do you think will be the end result? You allow him to do as he likes and goes wherever he pleases, always believing that this is the modern time, the jet age when children should be 'free'. Did God not give you the sacred task of nurturing this child for him? The child, whether male or female is not yours, you are only a caretaker. Mothers are not exclusively responsible for child training but they do have tremendous influence on their children.
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