Deepti Daryanani

Raising Your Child With Four Essential Principles Parents are a child's first teacher. The presence of loving parents is nourishment to a growing child. What we present to children at the early stages, greatly influences them. Children have a natural capacity to absorb. This capacity helps to accelerate their development from the time they are conceived. Whatever they see, here and engage with at the early stages, they pick up easily. This explains why children learn language faster than an adult. So it's extremely important to raise a child in an environment that is positive. We as parents must help our kids understand their relationship with the world they are born in. But how do we do this? By starting to build a strong foundation. The four principles of building values, education, sports as well as art and music. Weaving these basic principles into a child's life and living will ensure one thing for sure. It will shape them to be strong individuals with a thriving future. Let's take a closer look at these four principles. Values It doesn't matter what one meets in life what matters is how one meets it. Health, relationships, work, spirituality. These are aspects of our life. Every individual faces a challenge in one or more aspects of their life. When our kids grow up, they are also going to have challenges on their way. So how can we prepare our kids? How can we show them a way that can help them to meet these difficulties and overcome them successfully? Hurdles are many, the one who is facing them is one. It's the individual who moves through the various circumstances. If one learns the skill to overcome them, then no challenge will be difficult. Rather every problem will be a learning opportunity. This ability is born from the culture of inculcating eternal moral values in kids. The attitude of giving, not taking. Doing the right thing. Being true to oneself. Serving with humility. Being grateful. Values are truly the wealth of a human being. It grows and multiplies as we practice them. When we show these values to our kids, it serves them till the end. Without this, it would be like driving a car without knowing how to drive. How do we inculcate this culture in our kids? It's simple. Don't dictate instead lead by example. Show them how. For example, if you tell a child that sharing is a good thing. The child may not understand the depth of your words. Instead, take your child to the market. Buy fruits and hand the food to a homeless person on the street. Your child stands to witness this gesture of yours. Next time he would remember to give just like you did. Education ~ The highest education is that which does not merely give us information. But makes our life in harmony with all existence ~ Rabindranath Tagore The word educate means to 'draw out'. Today all academic learnings only give information on various subjects. This is taken in by children. Thereby developing their intelligence. Acquiring knowledge of various subjects only guarantees a higher percentage. Developing the intelligence quotient does not "draw out" their natural capacity of thinking. So what can we as parents do to help our kids develop their capacity to think? Build the intellect. The intellect is a faculty in all humans. When developed it helps one to think, discern, problem solve and be creative. The development of the intellect is a must for all. Without the intellect no academic knowledge is useful. Let's see an example. Tuberculosis was once a deadly disease. One individual from the medical field discovered a drug that could end this disease. He used his knowledge of medicine to solve this problem in society. This is the power of the intellect. There are lakhs of students who study medicine but only a few are able to use that knowledge to solve a problem. You can also develop your child's intellect. The early you start the better. A fun way to do this is telling and reading good stories. Stories are an ancient method of informal teaching. Read to or tell a story to your child. You could also encourage them to read by themselves. When such practices are done on a regular basis, it helps the child retain the story. Narrating the story later teaches them the sequence of events that happened in the tale. This slowly develops their organisational thinking. The characters in the story serve as models. Children relate to child characters. When they learn a story about a heroic character who could overcome something. It influences their own capacity to problem solve. So it's always smart to go for pleasing and positive stories. Also, having a regular storytelling time deepens the bond between parent and child. Thereby creating cherishing memories in the family. Sports Once a few followers of Swami Vivekananda came to visit him. They asked him how they could be spiritual. "Go play football", replied Vivekananda. Time and again great leaders have emphasised the importance of being physically fit. Children must be engaged in physical fitness from the very beginning. Sports is a great way to be fit. Cricket, tennis, football or basketball. It does not matter what sport it is. What matters is that the physical body is moving in a disciplined manner. For children to achieve higher performance, strength and endurance. Sports also teaches a child to collaborate with others. It is a fun way to build confidence and sustain the childlike nature. Parents must emphasise the importance of sports as a sport. Playing for the sake of playing in a non-competitive environment. The best way to bring up this culture in children is for parents to play along with their kids regularly. A playful badminton match or any sport together is again leading by example. Arts and Music Being creative and imaginative is an attribute of every child. Expressing oneself in artful ways enriches the personality. Refines emotions and creates a sense of discipline in kids. Every individual is unique and carries inherent talents. Upon discovering a child's talents, parents must channel their energies in artistic ways. Creating anything positive is art. Be it a drawing, writing a poem, building something or just having good ideas to create. These are constructive ways to channel a child's extraordinary energies. Music is part of every culture, tradition and community. It brings people together. Absorbing good music enables a good temperament in kids. Learning, appreciating good works of art and music certainly influences a child positively. If a child shows interest in any form of art or music, this interest must be encouraged and supported. Dance, drama, painting, singing or martial arts. Training in any form of art and musical tradition is a beautiful way to inculcate discipline. Spending time together in nature is also a simple yet effective way to teach a child about arts and music. Going for nature walks, a hike up a hill or sitting by a lake can bring a lot of stability and harmony to the child. The more they interact with nature the more they will learn. Nourishment is the process of growth. It is only with good care, the right soil, plenty of water and sunshine can a seed grow into a seedling. Then to a plant. Finally, into a beautiful abundant tree. In the same way, we must raise our kids. Nourishing them with good values, education, sports as well as arts and music. There is no joy greater than seeing our children thrive in the world. Creating a bright future not only for themselves but also humanity at large.