Whatever religion you profess, parenting puts a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. As a parent you are responsible for the well-being of your children, their upbringing and needs are catered to by you. Joys and happiness and also sadness and tears are all a part of bringing up children in a responsible way.
1. Children are born pure – Children are pure, sinless and with a natural predisposition for good and a belief in the one God, i.e. there is a zero possibility of the child being influenced by his internal characteristics to misbehave. Hence, no blame can be placed on a child if he does anything wrong. He only imitates what he sees, hears, feels and learns from his environment.
2. Parents are guides and role models – A child bears an innate nature to be good and parents are given the responsibility to nurture this goodness and a responsibility to lead, guide and take care of the child. If left alone, the child could go either way depending on who he meets and interacts with. Parents are role models for their children.
3. The essentials of upbringing are kindness and mercy – As parents, we must understand that playing and ‘kidding’ is vital for the proper development of a child, as they benefit his physical, emotional, cognitive and social development. Physical affection should not be stopped when your child grows up.
4. Where should you draw the line for your children? – A set of boundaries is required to guide a child’s behavior, which gives the child the freedom to act and behave within them. If he does not know what the boundaries are then he will always be testing the parent with his behavi0or to see what is acceptable and what is not.
5. Small responsibilities for the small shoulder to make it big – Being responsible teaches the child to be independent, but also dependable, reliable and productive. It makes him feel that he has a role in the family and a role in society instead of feeling useless. He will develop a sense of belonging and be a useful member of the family and society.
These five principles are the cornerstone for parenting. It helps in promoting and supporting the emotional, physical, social and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood.