A Nigerian social media user, Ada Naija, has sparked widespread discussion after sharing a deeply personal reflection about her upbringing, arguing that bathing children does not make men pedophiles.
Her post comes amid public outrage following the arrest of a father in Enugu State, accused of defiling his two daughters, aged 2 and 5.
The disturbing incident has reignited debates about who children can safely be left alone with, with some netizens warning mothers never to let fathers bathe their daughters.
Ada, however, disagreed with that generalization, recalling her own experiences growing up with a caring father who, despite being firm, was never inappropriate.
“If you zoom my face, where my hand is not touching, you’ll see a small scar that looks like a birthmark,” she wrote.
“It’s a scratch from my daddy’s nails where he was scrubbing my face like the back of a pot.”
She recounted how her father often bathed her and her siblings while their mother made breakfast, admitting she disliked it because “he was not gentle like my mum.”
Ada went on to describe how her father supported her during her first menstrual experience:
“The first time I had my period, I had the worst cramps, so I removed all my clothes and lay naked on the floor, hoping the cold tiles would reduce the pain. My dad found me and called my mum.”
She noted that her father would sometimes visit their rooms to check on them and pray, emphasizing that despite seeing her in vulnerable moments, he never crossed boundaries.
“I’ve been in several vulnerable situations around my dad, and he never took advantage of me. It is not bathing children that turns males into pedophiles,” Ada concluded.
Her post has since stirred conversations online, with many agreeing that parental care should not be gendered, while others insist on stricter caution in light of rising abuse cases.
