Thoughtful and responsible parents appreciate their duty to...

Thoughtful and responsible parents appreciate their duty to provide the right answers to the childrens questions and encourage their instinct to find out about nature of things around them. They prepare themselves about this task by visualizing the questions the child might ask and explore the possible replies to the queries. They never tell anything to the child that is contrary to the truth.

If at times they dont have the right answer to the childs question, they own their inability and try to find the right answer to be given later on. This way they train the child to be frank when he himself is faced with a similar situation. Some parents go into unnecessary detail while answering a childs question. This too is not desirable Experience tells that a child doesnt want to listen to long- winded answers. Although it wants a reply to the question, long talks will make it tired.

The parents must encourage the habit of debate and discussion in the children as they grow up. Where necessary they must be assisted to experiment. A child is a thinking human being, provide impetus to its thinking process that the latent capabilities are put into use and prepare itself for the future. Hazrat Ali says: One who asks questions in his childhood, will be capable of replying to questions when he is grown up. [1] Hazrat Ali also said: The childs heart is like the soft soil.

Whatever you put into it will be accepted. [2] A lady writes in her letter thus: One evening Dad came home and narrated a riddle to [1] Ghurar al-Hikam, P 645. [2] Ibid., P 302. me. He also said that his friends were unable to solve that riddle. Everyone at home slept but I was determined to unravel the riddle. I thought over it for a long while and ultimately I got the solution. I was so excited that I woke up Dad from his sleep. He expressed his happiness over my effort to solve the riddle.

He always encouraged me to sharpen my intellect. He has prepared me well to face the problems of life wisely. Previous…