Do not own property for children, make children as
property.
Corona gives us more time to engage with our
children... Here are a few highlights of our engagement.
My two children [daughter 8 years old and son 6
years old] have been able to learn yoga, doing a 12-timed sun salutary [Surya
Namaskar] which has 12 Yoga postures in one Namaskar, it brought them a lot of
enthusiasm. [Initially they denied, after explaining the benefits, they agreed
and now they are happily doing…]
They are also doing Pranayama four times a day and
once meditation practice; these have become part of their lives through
continuous practise.
I encouraged my children to write and tell stories
on 3 things (Ex: Parrot, ant and tree. So on), they are able to create their
own stories, I appreciated their narration and stories they wrote.
One hour a day, after my work, I gave my laptop to
my kids [not office one, my personal laptop; ... following guidelines] that
prompted them to draw a painting. I only showed how to use 3 or 4 features of
MS-Paint. It fostered creativity in them. [Attached Art collages]
I told my children to write a picture on 1 object on
a paper, gave them a star rating for the wrote. That helped them develop their
hand craft/art skills. [Attached minimized pictures of their Art]
They showed us some magic shows, puppet shows, many
other creative thoughts and received appreciation for their work. I gave them
clay that I had previously brought from farm land (black soil, ಜೇಡಿ ಮಣ್ಣು), and
they showed me so many crafts out of it. They are reusing that clay...
We ask them to do small tasks and they are paid for
that work. We encouraged them by paying for their work [paid ₹ 10, ₹ 20 for the
activity] and also assigned few pots, asked to grow tomatoes, brinjal, flowers,
chilli, coriander, grains, and so on and we paid for their products and
purchased [paid ₹ 20, ₹ 30]. [this was before Corona times] I did this for them
as they need to understood the fruit and vegetable values and hard
work behind to get them on our plates as food.
Parenting is…
1. Creating an atmosphere to learn and ability to
do the given work.
2. Give them money for small housework or tasks, [₹
5, ₹ 10, so on] they learn to respect work and money.
3. Teach dignity of labour, as they need to
understand all kinds of work is good and important.
4. Instilling courage and confidence to face
uncertainties and challenges. [Life is very unpredictable, unknown and
uncertain and it’s very dynamic, no defined rules work.]
5. They should understand the value of the things.
[I took 6 months to give a small watch. My daughter once begged me for that,
when I went to the shop; she was looking at the watch, but the shopkeeper
called it ₹ 55, I convinced her as - when I go to the Majestic, I will bring it
to you, it costs only ₹25 in Majestic. My daughter was crying, but we came
home. 6 months later I gave her the watch, which I brought it from the
Majestic. It’s not about money, with God's grace I'm not that poor. she should understand
that things take time. Also, its value and importance also.
According to some analysis of teenagers’ suicides, one
reason is because of bad-parenting i.e. parents give everything, whatever their
children ask in their childhood. When they grow up, they ask for something
bigger which might not be affordable to parents due to financial conditions,
these kids who never experienced NO, start hearing the word NO and they cannot
digest that, which end up giving up their lives. Hence, they need to know the
truth that everything is not available or possible in life. Sometimes they
should experience NO’s in life.
6. Bring some discipline in children. As Shiv Khera
said in You Can WIN book: Generally, children brought up with
excessive freedom and a lack of discipline grow up not respecting themselves,
their parents or society, and have a hard time accepting responsibility.
7. Don’t try to make your child as your xerox
copies, give freedom and allow them to express their creativity, ideas and thoughts.
If you observer your life, its not free from any suffering and sadness, so why
to create one more suffering being by imposing your idea and guidelines.
Note: Teaching values and discipline, it’s part of brining
responsible child to the society. [This is not part of removing freedom]
As the title says, if we raise children
efficiently, there is no need to make assets. It doesn't matter how much
property you make, for the children who are not properly raised.
Children learn more by observations. So, watch your
words and behaviors, they follow your actions not your teachings. Spend one
hour with them, it boosts your productivity too…
Author: GCV (Vishnuvardhana GC)
Kereya neeranu Kerege chelli
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