Amongst the different stages of life, childhood is the most important stage, which lays the foundation for the subsequent stages [of life]. Managing this stage successfully brings a peaceful and fruitful life ahead. If you [as parents] do not give due importance to this stage of life [of your children] and do not train them with the correct knowledge, the same children will not remember you with good words in future. Take notice of the importance of this stage and care about providing proper training to your children.
The three habits of children and their positive uses have been briefly mentioned below. Read, understand, and practice them:
1. Fun and play
Owing to this habit, children do not sit in one place. Sometimes, they tease someone, while other times, they break something. All the time, they keep doing some kind of activity and thus keep moving things here and there. Do not get upset due to this habit, as it is a sign of them being intelligent. It is stated in a Hadees: Having fun and play in childhood is a sign of being wise in adulthood. (Al-Jami’ Sagheer, Part. 2, pp. 335, Hadees 5413)
Respected parents! Get the advantage of this habit of your child and keep him busy with age-appropriate tasks. اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه! This will make your child to learn a lot of things easily while maintaining his health too. For example, a mother may ask her children to give her a hand with home chores such as laying the meal mat, removing it, picking clothes, and putting the empty glass back to its place. Similarly, take your children to some open space and allow them to stroll round, be it once in a week.
2. To copy
A child is after all a child, unable to distinguish between good and bad. That’s why he tries his best to copy adults. Therefore, good and virtuous deeds should be performed before him; for example, recite Holy Quran, go to Masjid, attend Milad, give charity to the needy, read books so that your child starts doing these tasks while copying you and begins to regard them as good works mentally.
Respected parents! Do not watch or listen to the people on mobile and TV in front of children following whom is inappropriate for us morally and as per Shari’ah. In short, for the better future of children, the elders of the family will have to give up anything whether verbal or by action that could breed negative thoughts in the minds of children.
3. To ask questions
This personality trait of a child gets him to ask different questions in different styles. For example, he would sometimes ask you innocently, Baba! Where is He, whom we worship? Sometimes because of fear, he would ask, would both of you abandon this world, leaving me [alone]?
Respected parents! He keeps asking you so many similar questions. If you do not give him an answer and rather keep putting him off, saying, ‘You are a kid so don’t talk about this,’ he will get more curious to find the answer. He will begin to ask others [the same question]. If someone mistakenly gives him a wrong answer, it will get deeply ingrained in his mind forever. Therefore, it is better to get yourself correct information now, to avoid being remorseful later. [Try to] respond to queries posed by children beautifully. اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه! This will improve the quality of your life and will also be a source of peace in the hereafter.
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