That was the last time their father spent the night at home.
Many times the youngest of the children would snuggle up to her mother: "mommy where is daddy? I miss daddy," and begin to cry. Her mother would hide her tears from the child. The children always talk about the day daddy came to take them to the park. Too sad he would not spend the night again as he was going for a trip far away. However he promises he will come back to take them to another good place. As he tells his little girls "I love you," then Nana, the youngest asks innocently, "daddy akere you also love mommy?" He looks away to hide the mist that wants to form in his eyes. He has to find a way to tell the children that he and their mother are divorcing, but he knows the children, at four and six years are too young to understand. Both he and his about to be ex-wife dearly love the children and know the divorce will disappoint them, but they do not think there is another way about it. Sure thing though, is that the children will be hurt by their parents' split."Divorce is quite traumatic on children, particularly the minor children," says Jacob Manzunzu, who works as a deputy registrar at the high court.This, in Manzunzu's opinion is because the children are too young to appreciate what is happening except that they can feel that something is not right."When you are born in a family, you think what you find is a permanent arrangement. And when as a child you find your parents fighting you get confused," he says.Manzunzu says parents who fight over children's custody often force the courts to call the children.
