Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 6
6 their habits and behaviors become the primary example for their children. All their spiritual and emotional strengths and weaknesses are observed by their children, who will be greatly affected by them because they will follow them almost unconsciously for many years to come, even though all of the mother ’ s habits may not be commendable. Mothers are their children ’ s first teachers and the most important training is done during the first five years, when children just imitate blindly. It is the parents that give children an awareness and opinions about the world around them, and they also have an effect on their aspirations, strength of character, good manners and personality traits. It is important that mothers create a home where the children feel secure and safe, and are assured of being loved so that they can develop mentally and emotionally. Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) has also warned mothers who do not themselves follow the teachings of Islam, but rely solely on prayers for the Tarbiyat of their children, that they will ultimately lose their children to worldly influences. He said: “ Now, to raise good children like these you will have to become good mothers. It is not possible that you are not good mothers, but continue to pray for your children or make requests for prayers for them that God should make them good. Such mothers who have given themselves over to the world, whose desires are all dedicated to achieve worldly gains, sometimes do carry love for religion in their hearts and they initially do not realize which way they are headed. They know from their childhood that faith should be preferred over the world. Therefore, they do pray for their children ’ s faith and moreover whenever they have a chance they write to me but they themselves are lost in the material world. These parents ultimately lose their children. Children have the