This topic has been nagging my mind for some time. Though it is not very relevant to the topics that I cover in this blog, I thought of sharing this. Every single day we read/see news in media about the increased crimes and the involvement of children, particularly school aged children in those crimes. It is indeed very sad to see such things but are we correct in blaming only our kids for this matter? Or is there something that we need to blame ourselves? I am not writing anything new here, but thought of stressing the point which everyone know already, "Moral Education",
Once, it was taught in schools as a specific subject (15-20 years ago) in India, but not anymore. Again, it is not the sole responsibility of schools to inculcate good habits in kids. We, as parents, have the main responsibility here. A practical solution is to teach morals to kids by adapting the age old technique of story telling. You might say that you are already doing that. But the kinds of stories you choose and the method of communication is more important here.
Remember, personal touch is the key. Apps, you tube videos, DVDs and Blue ray discs can indeed be an easy way of teaching kids about morals with awesome graphics, but without physical interaction, we cannot know if it had made the correct impact in the minds of kids. A story personally told by a parent or grandparent even for ten minutes can give fantastic joy to kids which they will cherish, rather than watching the videos alone. This involvement is crucial for them to understand the story and the moral it teaches. Make it an everyday practice and you can feel the great benefits it brings.
Making this "quality time" in spite of our busy schedule might sound tough initially, but it is certainly possible if we have the strong will. One of my friends named "Sabari" is a working woman, mom of two and she also enjoys doing intense workouts each day. Despite her busy schedule, she has the practice of singing "Barathiyar songs" to her kids whenever she has time. It is possible for anybody, all that is needed is little time management.
Okay, now we have the will and we have also made time, where can we go for stories? Nowhere much, other than your own religion and your own language. There are plenty of morals and values in them. Resort to "Stories from the Bible" if you follow Christianity, "Stories from the Quran" if you follow Islam or "Stories from the Vedas, Puranas and Ithihasas" if you follow Hinduism. Look out for morals in "Thirukkural" "Kondraivendhan" etc. if your mother tongue is Tamil.
I tried to compile resources from all over the net to provide some good links for stories to tell kids and here you go.....
Happy story telling!!! Enjoy the immense pleasure of bonding with your kids through stories while teaching them morals simultaneously.
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