Parenting is a Rewarding Journey

Children normally are keen observers. They observe everything, every moment. Most parents are oblivious to the fact that children are scrutinising them every moment. Therefore, it is important for parents to be free from stress because parents’ stress or joy, their character and attitudes get transferred to the child

When a baby is born, along with it, a mother and a father are also born. Often, we are eager to teach our little ones when there is a lot to learn from them. A baby exudes all the qualities of an enlightened person. A baby lives completely in the moment.

Babies practice all the Mudras right from the beginning. They are born in Adi Mudra– thumb tucked in a fist. They often sleep in chin mudra, index finger touching the thumb and chinmay mudra, with the remaining three fingers closed in a fist. Around the time their spine begins to develop, they start sucking their thumb (Merudanda Mudra). Through the day, they stretch and twist their spine or touch their toes and so on. Every posture of a baby is somewhere related to yoga. In fact, it appears that yoga was developed by looking at a baby growing.

It’s no gibberish

Many times, people brush aside what babies say as gibberish. Interestingly, children often remember things from their past lives, and between the age of three and seven, they start forgetting it. So, if you keenly listen to them talk, they may be expressing things from their previous birth.

An individual’s life and character is shaped by four factors. One fourth of it comes from parents. Another one fourth is acquired through education and upbringing. Karma or the cause-and-effect of one’s actions provides another one fourth and one’s own effort make up the last quarter. So parents form the very first foundation of a child’s life. A child starts his learning process by imitating his parents.

Keen observers

Children normally are keen observers. They observe everything, every moment. Most parents are oblivious to the fact that children are scrutinising them every moment. Therefore, it is important for parents to be free from stress because parents’ stress or joy, their character and attitudes get transferred to the child.

Children are naturally drawn to music and dance. It is advisable to expose them to music which is not too aggressive, harsh and hard rock type. Often parents cannot tolerate children crying. But we should not be too anxious to put a pacifier in the child’s mouth when it cries. It is good for the child to cry a little every day for it opens up the lungs as well as the cranial bones. Osteopaths also testify to this.

Positive approach

While dealing with children or educating them, one tends to give a lot of negative suggestions. We should be conscious of this and instead should give positive suggestions. Instead of saying, “Don’t go there”, we can say, “Come here”. Similarly, instead of saying, “Don’t throw the bottle”, we can say, “Keep the bottle there”. One can make an effort to turn suggestions more affirmative rather than negative.

Children are a blessing from the divine. Not only do they bring immense joy with them, bringing them up is a highly educational experience for the parents. They get plenty of opportunities to become more caring, more patient, to lead by example and most of all, to shower all their love on their bundles of joy. In some sense, it will not be wrong to say that parents play the role of God. With so many flavours, parenting can be a very colourful journey and a rewarding one too.