Importance Of Children

[Equality4All]

Hi,

I am doing some reasearch on the importance of children in Sikhism.

Im im interested in the following:

1. The Gurus teachings in regards to children

2. The Sikh tradations and celebrations when a baby is born (i.e Baptism in christianity).

3. The naming of the child.

4. The importance of upbringing of the children.

also any related teachings in regardss to sikhism view of children and parents.

 

[Astroboy]

Holy Cakes

Picture for coloring at bottom of page.​

A devoted old woman had one prayer: that Guru Har Rai would eat the bread made by her own hands. She made her living by spinning, and one day was able to make some extra money with which she bought the wheat flour and other ingredients for making bread. She made two cakes and took them to a spot where the Guru passed daily. She sat down next to the cakes, focused her mind on the Guru, and began praying. The Guru felt the strength of her prayer. He mounted his horse and, on his way to the chase, went joyfully right to where she was waiting.

She had almost given up hope of his coming when he arrived. He said that he was very hungry from the chase, and wished to have something to eat. She offered him the cakes, which he ate on horseback, without washing his hands. He then said to her, "This is the most delicious food I have ever eaten." She was overjoyed and thanked the Guru for visiting her and accepting her hospitality. He shared his spiritual teachings with her and finally blessed her with liberation from rebirth.

Meanwhile, the Sikhs who had accompanied the Guru were astonished that he had taken food from a strange woman, eaten it on horseback, and not washed his hands. They asked him why he had done so. He gave them no reply, but continued on through the forest. The next day, they prepared sweet cakes with great cleanliness and took them to the forest with the Guru, to eliminate his need to eat unclean food from someone of lower caste. After a while, the Sikhs offered the Guru the cakes they had made, but he said, "I ate food from that woman's hands because she was holy. The food you have made for me, with great ceremony, is not pleasing to me." The Sikhs replied, "O Guru, yesterday you ate two cakes on horseback from that old woman. There was no clean and sacred place to eat; the food was in every way impure. Today, with great care we have made the purest cakes, yet you reject them. Why is this so?" The Guru gave this explanation, "With great faith and devotion, that old woman made those cakes out of what she had earned by the sweat of her brow. Because of this, the food was very pure and that is why I ate it. I was hungry for love; in the matter of love for God, no rule is recognized."

Stories for Children, please visit:The Sikh Tradition - HOLY CAKES - Guru Har Rai

 

[Astroboy]

Sikhs doing Kirtan in Raag Bhopali.
YouTube - Stories of Guru Nanak - Part 2=

 

[Archived_Member16]

FOOD FOR THOUGHT on the "Importance of Children":

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
and though they are with you, and yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love, but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday.

- Kahlil Gibran

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What Our Children Need

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to CHERISH every minute with them, [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For tomorrow may be too late. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to HUG them, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So they know they are important to us. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to show INTEREST in what they do, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All they want is approval. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to LISTEN to what they say, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Remembering they are our future. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to DREAM with them, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Because this how they find where they want to be in life. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to RESPECT them, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Because this is how they learn to care about others. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to ENCOURAGE them. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Because this is how they become the best that they can. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They need us to NURTURE them, [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Because the world can be a harsh place. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]AND WE ARE THEIR SHELTER FROM HARM! [/FONT]
[/FONT]

- Robin Lea Black
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Every Child Needs

1) Unconditional Love: physical and emotional warmth and closeness, through both good times and bad. In conjunction with an enduring sense of trust from both sides, unconditional love forms the foundation for a lifelong, mutually respectful, nurturing relationship between parent and child.

2) Validation: affirmation for a child's thoughts, feelings, ideas, efforts, and especially for his or her individuality as a human being. Validation begins with a parent's highly attuned attention. Through generous praise, recognition, appreciation, hugs, pats on the back, and so forth, a child comes to feel as though his or her feelings truly matter within the family unit. Feeling solidly supported by our families during childhood is the primary mechanism for the formation of healthy self-esteem in human beings.

3) Structure:an environment of "healthy limits" in which a child can grow and thrive. Good structure for children is a matter of balance. In order for them to feel emotionally secure and yet still have the freedom to grow, children need to experience age-appropriate, continually expanding boundaries as they mature. Nonoppressive, sometimes negotiable (where appropriate) limits are enforced with compassionate discipline, the ultimate goal being to teach children the arts of self-discipline and self-motivation.

4) Understanding: a child gains emotional security from knowing that he or she can make mistakes (even the mistake of behaving badly) without being shamed or degraded with excessive parental anger or harsh punishment. In this type of nurturing family system, parents understand that mistakes are an integral part of the learning process, and that children learn life's lessons more fully when they are guided with an "empathetic hand."

5) Healthy Modeling: consistent parental examples of emotional wholeness. We parents must show our children the way toward balance in life by modeling such things as emotional generosity toward others, calm and effective problem-solving skills (particularly in our dealings with them), healthy coping strategies in regard to our own daily stresses, and the ability to set goals and sustain our efforts in achieving them. For better or worse, our parental behavior is the most powerful life teacher for our children.

6) Challenge: age-appropriate incentives for a child to learn life's emotional and practical lessons at each developmental stage. In order to bolster our children's ability to problem-solve and achieve their goals, their minds need to be stimulated by learning new skills and overcoming obstacles. As we parents offer our children a wide variety of subject matter to explore, our use of encouragement and praise is key in sustaining their desire to master their world.

7) Inclusion: a sense of belonging to the family group, and to the community at large. A healthy attachment to the primary caregiver in childhood is the first way that children learn to feel like welcome and valuable members of the family group. This core sense of belonging is what enables children to move confidently into the world, and reach out to others in a spirit of good will and camaraderie. It is important for them to experience the satisfaction of having other people depend on them, as well, which is taught in the home by having each child be responsible for important family duties. In this way, our children will learn to be responsible to themselves, to their families, and to society.

When a child's developmental needs are met, he or she will naturally begin to experience:

Healthy Self-Esteem: core feelings of self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-respect as an individual. A child develops healthy self-esteem when his or her feelings, ideas, and achievements are accepted, valued, and supported within the family unit over the long term. Unlike arrogance - which is often a coping mechanism for covering up underlying feelings of worthlessness - healthy self-esteem is the keystone to understanding, respecting, and valuing others.

Self-Actualization: a child's growing recognition of his or her unique thoughts and abilities throughout the maturation process. The prime goal of parenting is to prepare our children for independence in adulthood. We parents must therefore consistently encourage our children's journey toward autonomy, so they can learn to thrive "without us," emotionally, materially, and spiritually.

source: http://www.living-library.com/HeartMates/needs.htm

 

[Astroboy]

From your quotes, can I then say that children are in the image and likeness of God?
That when we listen to our children, we are listening to God, when talking to our children, we are talking to God?