CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Procreation is a phenomenon that ensures the survival and continuity of a nation. However, the rearing pattern of the children that are products of wedlock is a crucial task that is significant in determining the quality of citizens that make up a particular society. It is disappointing to note that juvenile cases and other social vices that characterized our society today are traceable to bad child patterns of many homes. Children who have passed through such homes were either battered, abandoned, or abused in any other form. They were consequently toughened and eventually become liabilities to the community rather than assets. In Nigeria today, the rate of child abuse and neglect have assumed a worrisome and alarming proportion (Semenitani, 1998).