Allahand helpinghimto be obedient,You shouldtreat himinsucha
waythatifyoubehavewelltowardshim,youwillbe sureofbeing re-
wardedandifyoubehavebadlytowardshim,youwillbesureofreceiv-
ing punishment'."
Ofcoursenotallmothersareawareofthenecessaryskillsoftraininga
childandthatiswhytheyshouldsetaboutlearningthem.Itisnotwith-
in the scopeof thisbook to presentyou with adetailed discussion on
caring for one's child. Fortunately, thereare many books, which have
beenwrittenonthissubjectbylearnedwritersandscholars.Womencan
buythesebooksandwiththehelpoftheirownexperience,theycanedu-
catetheirchildrenandevenbecomespecialistsinthefieldofchild-rear-
ing.She can then become helpfulto othermothers for theirduties re-
garding their children.
Here one point should be mentioned. Many people make mistakes
aboutthe twophrasesof 'education'and'training',orthinkofthemas
havingthesamemeaning.Butoneshouldknowthatteachingachilddif-
ferentsubjectssuchasappropriate stories,poems,Qur'an,traditionsof
theProphet(SA),andtheImams(AS)doesnoteducatethem.Suchsub-
jectsareusefulbutachildshouldnotonlylearnabouthonest persons,
but he should be honest himself.
Thus,wemustcreatesuchanatmosphereandlivingenvironmentthat
thechildwouldnaturallybecomeanhonestandpiousperson.Ifachild
growsupinanenvironmentofhonesty,truthfulness,bravery,discipline,
cleanliness, kindness, love, freedom, justice, patience, trustworthiness,
faithfulness,andsacrifice,thenhelearnsallofthat.Ontheotherhand,a
childwhogrowsupinaplaceofcorruption,deception,anger,hate,hy-
pocrisy,filth,anddisloyalty,would'inevitablybeaffectedbythem.Such
achildmaylearn manystoriesaboutgoodandpiouspeople,buttono
avail.Dishonest parents cannot, byteachingQur'an andHadith, bring
uphonestchildren.Dirtymotherandfatheractuallyteachtheirchildto
be dirty. Achild paysmore attention to his parent's deeds andnot so
much to their words.
Therefore,thoseofuswhoareseriouslythinkingofbringinguphon-
estandgoodchildren,shouldcorrecttheirown behaviourfirst. Thisis
the only way to educate a child to be useful to himself and his society.