Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 196
! ! 196 cure cannot be found. Another factor w hich thwarts a child’s training is excessive love, where by they are overprotected and provided for rather than taught to work hard. If children can go out and play in the extreme heat, baring their heads and feet , or if they can wander around in the cold, then why is it considered a hardship for them to offer congregational prayers? If in fulfilling their o wn needs, they do not care whether it is hot or cold, nor do they feel distress, then how can offer ing congregational prayers cause them discomfort? In short , children should be made to develop the habit s of endurance and resilience. These days, there are several recently formed comforts available to destroy a child’s spirit of hard work and resilience and oftentimes schools prom o te such delicate practices. For example, the practice of keeping u nusually long hair in the fore part of the head. The reason behind adopting such unnecessary daintiness is that th ey wish to look pretty and to be loved by other s. These qualities are solely feminine , and I have noticed that such boys walk and speak like girls. Therefore, children should not be allowed to be overly particular in food and clothing. In my opinion, excessi ve consumption of meat is the reason behind the lack of fortitude in children. T heir bones are still weak , and t heir sexual organs and urges are aroused too early. Therefore , vegetables and fru its are more beneficial. I am not suggesting that meat should be forbidden to them but that excess ive amounts are harmful. Although some children who hav e a weak chest or who are instructed by their doctors, should eat meat. However, in normal circumstances, vegetables are more beneficial for children. Moral improvement is brought about in two ways the world over. Firstly, through faith. S oon after one commits sin , one immediately becom es alert and aware, as if t he y w ere sleeping and t he y are suddenly awake. The other means to improvement is force of habit, which is also divided into two types. One form of habit is good in its nature and the other i s bad.