Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 11
Chapter 1: The Role of Ahmadi Muslim Mothers 11 Another way to handle societal challenges is that mothers should educate themselves about what goes on in the society around them. Mothers who have not grown up in the same environment as their children may be completely unaware of the issues that their children face on a daily basis, therefore getting involved with school activities is important. Mothers who are well informed about current trends and events, and the things that their children are interested in, will find it easier to communicate with their children and to explain why some things are permissible for Muslims and some are not. Mothers also have to be knowledgeable about their own beliefs and teachings in order to teach their children and answer their questions; listening to Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih ’ s Friday Sermons is a great tool for this. There is a well-known saying that “ it takes a village to raise a child ” and there is no doubt that one of the most helpful things that mothers can do for each other is to provide mutual support. Every mother experiences moments of doubt about her ability to handle the Tarbiyat of her children or is unsure how to handle certain situations; knowing that she is not alone can be very reassuring. Mothers with similar age children can form support groups and share information on how they deal with certain challenges. Advice can also be solicited from grandmothers, relatives and elders who have been successful in raising righteous children. Being a mother is one of life ’ s most joyful and rewarding experiences, but there are times in every mother ’ s life when the demands and hassles of caring daily for children causes stress. Caring for young children is physically very tiring and caring for older children is more worrisome as they are exposed to more outside influences. Therefore, on days when mothers get overwhelmed by all their responsibilities, it is important for them to know how to cope with their own stress. Some of the things that they can do include: making sure they take care of their own health; getting enough rest;