Eleven Types of Challenge
We all know that in life someone must face one or two challenge, and it is your challenge that make you more strong, though we all faces different challenges. These are the type of Challenge people faces in life;
- The challenge of paying more attention to individual jobs at the expense of the family:
The couple or one of them may be tempted to build up a career from the job and get married to it at the detriment of his or her home. For example the challenge of who takes care of the home will now be a great matter. Can a wife who had gone to work just like the husband, and who may have the same level or sometime higher level of official responsibilities; just arrived at home at the same time like the husband tired, be expected to go straight to the kitchen to prepare food the husband while he probably is on the bed resting or on the sofa watching television? Certainly not, but ironically this has been the cause of major conflict at home. The husband in such circumstances just think the wife must perform her role as a wife her official engagement notwithstanding. The wife on the other hand sees the husband as wicked and inconsiderate and may be bold to say so.
When this happens, crises occur.
Other victims of this challenge are the children, who takes care of the baby when both couple is alway to their respective Office? Is the baby left at the Mercy of illiterate or semi illiterate House girl or relative? Or is the child taking to the day care?
Even when the children are growing up who is always with them to mold their live? Is it House girl, gateman, drivers, relatives or friends while the parents are busy pursuing money or their respective career?
- The challenge of individualism and personal pride.
The first temptation in this type of situation is for the couple to allow money to separate them; it takes the grace of God for a woman that in financially empowered to submit the husband in all things. Similarly a man that is financially empowered needs special grace to drop his personal ego. - The challenge of neglecting their spiritual life;
The pursuit of money or the quest for career development may affect their spiritual growth. When this happens Satan will take advantage of it to attack the family.
- The family may be exposed to external influence.
The children may learn and copy from people that may have negative influence on them also the couple may be more exposed or committed to friends, professional colleague than to each other.
- The challenge of nursing a child;
In a working class family the issue of nursing a baby is a major challenge, especially where there are no house helps. The nursing mother who is expected to place her baby on exclusive breast feeding will probably be in a dilemma. She seems to be faced with bitter option: her Job or her baby? Which one takes priority? This is a serious problem in that some mothers have lost their first baby in the process.
What to do;
The couple should take advantage of the African extended family structure and work on the possibility of arranging for their mothers to come one after the other on six months respectively to take care of the baby. Where this is not possible then the church should send the elderly women to the family on request to compliment and oversee or supervise the house helps activities. The couple should not leave the baby entirely at the mercy of house helps or day care. The couple should put their home as number one priority over jobs or any career development. They should ponder over this wise saying “if a man succeed in everything but fails to have a successful home that man is a family.
- The challenge of health
This factor is very important, it is very clear that without good health, you can’t do many things in life. It is a common knowledge that with age there is always a health challenge. The husband and wife are getting older and the children too are growing. At this stage the couple should pay attention to their diet. It is assumed that a couple in this phase of marriage will probably be between thirty five to fifty years old. Hence such couple must watch their lifestyle now before they enter into the third and last stage.
- The challenge of training adolescence children
The second phase of marital life poses a unique challenge in child upbringing. This is because all things being equal they will be dealing with children in their adolescent age. This age for all children have challenging features as stated below;
a. It is an age between childhood and adulthood. The children are between the age of thirteen and twenty two years and they are neither children nor adults. This confused status is also transferred to their attitude and behavior.
b. It is a rebellious age where the boy or girl find it difficult to obey and submit to any established authority.
c. It is an age of freedom where the boy or girl does not want to be caged or resisted by any one.
d. It is an adventurous age, where the individual like to experiment and take risks which at time May be very costly.
e. It is an age of self glorification and pride where the individual is full of him or her Self and easily display high level of arrogance
- The challenge of providing for retirement;
This is also the period when couple will be planning for the old time when they may not be so active to sustain their present level of operation. Specifically, the couple may be thinking of having a house of their career or profession, seeing the children through their education career etc.
- The challenge of loneliness;
This is a serious challenge that most people faced at this stage. The reason for this loneliness is obvious, by now almost every one in the family have grown and become independent. The danger in this challenge is that loneliness can lead to the psychological problem whereby the individual may loose interest in his or her immediate environment. This may further lead to depression, stroke or even sudden death. - The challenge of fear, anxiety and uncertainty;
The people at this stage is constantly worries about the security of their children, they dread the thought of loosing any one. Also people worries if any of their children is not doing well in his or her endeavor of life. Also worries about their health, afraid of death.
- The challenge of becoming grandparents;
In Africa elderly people seems to love and passionate about their grandchildren than their direct children. They tend to fall into temptation of having them live permanently in their home. In as much as this helps to solve the problem of loneliness as earlier discussed however there are obvious challenge that may accompany this kind gesture.
