Childhood Revisited (Must Read For Parents)

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Written by a person, who has conducted hundreds of workshops in various schools (Refer to Building Blocks by the same author); has studied many scriptures (Refer to the Bhagavad-Gita, the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Spiritual Sense, Success Follows Virtues, Practical tips from the Bhagavad-Gita, 100 Roadblocks by the same author); who is a qualified civil engineer, who has studied, taught and worked for many years in the U.S.A.

It is quite surprising that parents, who are very careful about what they should be doing when their children are in the womb, stop paying much attention, i.e. scientific attention when their children start to grow up. They follow all instructions of their gynecologists to ensure the good health of their children as they grow in the womb. This is very good. Such care has drastically cut down the cases of stillbirth, besides ensuring that foetuses develop well. However, the same parents, especially fathers, stop paying much attention to the needs of their wards as they enter schools. Yes, they do provide for their maintenance, and most of them do it quite well, but children need much more than food, clothes, books, etc. They need expert care and training. An example of a sportscoach will illustrate this point further. We put our children under their supervision and assiduously follow their instructions in order to ensure that the children excel.

But there is much more about children than their maintenance and becoming good sportspersons. They must become good students and, most importantly, develop good personalities. This requires well informed care. Yes, teachers in good schools do their bit, but children spend only a quarter of their time in schools; their three- fourth time is spent in their homes. And teachers look after the needs of around forty students in a class these days. Can we expect them to pay attention to the individual needs of children under their supervision? No, we should not expect; this job has to be and must be done by parents. For that, they must be well prepared and informed. Childhood is a very special time when the personality of the child develops. It requires great supervision and care. Why experiment when well tried methods are already known?