Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 93
Chapter 5: Middle School Years 93 what is right from a moral/religious standpoint. This is where children need to know how to choose their friends and keep the company of the righteous. Teach your children the Ahadith of the Holy Prophet (saw), which says, “ A person may adopt his friend ’ s religion (or way of life), hence he should watch who he befriends. ” 5. 10 This Hadith means that a person can be influenced by the way of life exhibited by those who he associates with , t herefore, one should stay in the company of the righteous. Bullying can be another concern during these years. Bullying can begin very early, becoming quite widespread by middle school and is not limited to physical abuse - verbal, emotional, and cyberbullying are also common in many schools. Again, a mother ’ s strong relationship with her child with open communication is the best way to safeguard children against bullying, as she would be able to pick up any change in her child ’ s behavior that may be the result of being bullied. Bullying can contribute to students feeling socially isolated, worthless, or depressed and the child may be too embarrassed to talk about it. Helping a child through a bullying situation can be complicated, and requires collaboration between parents, children, teachers, and school counselors. As technology moves forward at lightning speed, twenty-first century parents are faced with the difficulty of placing their children in an environment which may seem like a place from outer space. To stay in step with the modern high-tech world, both mothers and fathers have to be extremely knowledgeable about the new gadgets and the social environment that surrounds their children. This may seem overwhelming to many parents and, in particular, those who have emigrated from South Asian countries. In many immigrant families, the fathers are out of the house for long hours, often due to holding two jobs to meet financial needs. In such situations, the mothers are the ones who have to monitor the children ’ s daily lives from morning