Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 59
59 CH APTER 4 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YEARS “ Respect your children and cultivate good manners in them. ” 4. 1 INTRODUCTION The beginning of elementary school is a very big step for a child. At this stage in life, children are very attached to their parents. The mother plays an integral role in influencing her children, such as who they associate with, what they do in their free time, what they eat, when they sleep and the kind of daily routine they maintain. Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (aba) has emphasized this: “ So it is mostly a woman ’ s responsibility to train children morally. As long as an Ahmadi woman understands her duty towards her children ’ s Tarbiyat and understands that religious training is as important as worldly training, then God Almighty will grace her efforts with His blessings and the new generation will stay on the right path. Children usually spend more time with their mothers, so it is natural for them to be influenced by their mothers. People from the western culture claim that since children go to school at a very early age, they do not listen to their parents from the time they begin school. However, a recent survey was taken to find out who influenced the children more and who they listened to more. The result indicates that most children up to the age of fifteen and sixteen years, which includes both girls and boys, are more influenced by their mothers. They give credence to what their mothers say, are friendlier with them, and confide in them as well.