Today's children are our tomorrow's light-bearers. Therefore, we need to ensure a sound upbringing for these angels. Following decades of studies, it has been found that the children generally do better academically, psychologically and socially than those children who are denied more attention from family, society and institutions. True, there may be some exceptions but those cannot be cited as examples. This write up will try to focus on some key ways to ensuring a sound upbringing for the children.
Parents are deemed the first teacher of a child. But unfortunately, these days, our parents have to remain busy, engaged and restless as life has turned out to be more challenging than before. On the other hand, the fact should not be overlooked that the children require more attention from their parents than others. So, the parents should spend quality time with their kids.
Quality time is, however, giving someone your undivided attention. It does not necessarily mean sitting on the couch, watching television or using facebook as well as simply talking with children. We should not forget that each human being just after his/her birth aspires to become an individual.
Each child is, indeed, each individual. Rearing and leading a child to a smooth path of becoming an individual is not an easy task. Ideal Parents dedicate their time, energy, money, career and sometimes, yield up some of their cherished habits for ensuring their kids' bright future. Even at a very young age, children imitate their parent's behavior.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, commonly known as B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher found in one of his case studies that, "Oxana Malaya was neglected by her alcoholic parents at an early age and so was brought up by dogs and was well known for her dog-imitating behavior." Hence, parents must behave themselves in front of their children.
Keeping home environment fresh, healthy and calm is, undoubtedly, necessary. Nowadays media, more precisely speaking, television has appeared as our nearest friend. When we the adults remain glued to media or television, our kids may also be hooked on them.
Besides, many of our parents and guardians allow their children to use mobile phones at the early age, forgetting the fact that this tendency can cause harm to them. Moreover, many of us may think that buying costly toys for kids is the best way to make them happy and respectful to parents. Perhaps, we miss the very important point that to make our kids happy and meek, there are many other ways other than this fashion.
Did we get all the costly toys from our parents in our childhood? Are not we respectful to them till now? We can make toys on our own and play with the Children. Companionship is a way to come closer to our kids. Instead of purchasing costly gifts and toys, buying good story books for them and reading together at night is one of the most effective ways to make them more imaginative and creative.
This reading habit will immensely help them in future. There are also many constructive plays like building toys and they are great for developing motor skills and hand-eye coordination. If you think of providing basic lessons through website, you can navigate the links meant for children. There are many child friendly websites. For examples, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Yr7vjwk8A, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-wmulY5Z4ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQgsp9kgQU, http://www.talkenglish.com/grammar/, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/216172850834463262/.
Teaching kids to do chores at a young age is one of the most useful keys to develop a good habit in them. Teach them to love work or study from their early age. When we do something for our own pleasure and advancement, not for the pressure from others, we stand in wisdom. But the kids' work must be easy, enjoyable and risk-free.
Always remember, good care, good guide and good food ensure good life. Good food does not mean fast food. Children prefer junk foods like hamburger, pizza, fried chicken, French fries, milkshake, chicken fingers, chocolates to homemade healthy foods like fresh rice, vegetables, meat, fish, milk etc. Outside food is not always good for children. Parents should habituate their kids in homemade food. For good care and good guide, both parents and schools play the vital role.
Children get best input from schools. Apart from studying, children should be taught discipline, socialization, morality, humanism, brotherhood, patriotism, leadership, religious views, history and cultural traits in schools. Participatory learning environment promotes brotherhood and helps the students collaborate, connect with peers. Constructive co-curricular activities also help them in future.
Above all, we can never deny the fact that children are our present as well as our future. That is why, nurturing our present in all-encompassing ambiance in order to ensure our bright future will be an act of wisdom for all of us.
The writer is Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Modern Languages (IML) at Jagannath University, Dhaka. Her email address is
[email protected]
-Protiva Rani Karmaker