Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 67
Chapter 4: Elementary School Years 67 their child’s school teachers, to know what syllabus is being covered, what the child is learning, and how well their child is doing in class. Parents can make sure they are complementing what they are doing in those classes and are helping children complete their homework. When children become part of Nasiratul-Ahmadiyya or Atfalul- Ahmadiyya, they are obligated to pay their Chanda. Encourage them to pay these dues from their own allowance or money that they have collected. This will help them in developing the spirit of financial sacrifice from an early age. Relate to them the importance of purifying one ’ s money by spending in the way of Allah. The other benefit of being regular for meetings is that the child will form relationships within the Jama ’ at that can be stronger than the ones at school. When children develop strong friendships with other children within the Jama ’ at, they will enjoy going to the mosque , s o a parent ’ s job is to ensure that children have opportunities to interact with their peers in the Jama ’ at and foster long term relationships with them. In the early elementary years , children have more free time and are completely dependent on the parents for their lives outside school, so it is crucial that parents are very careful as to how their children spend their time. It is possible that, in the same way as adults, children may also face negative as well as positive incidents at the mosque. Each child is different and therefore will react to such experiences individually. However, how a child deals with an unpleasant incident will greatly depend on the parent ’ s reaction. If a child ’ s feelings are hurt, it is better that the parent discusses the matter directly with the person concerned, or talks to the local Sadr about it so that the child feels comfortable going to the mosque without feeling singled out. Sometimes cultural differences can cause huge misunderstandings that can be cleared very easily by the wisdom of the parents. Children perceive the society and community around them through their