Parenting Tip:
Freedom does not come free.
It is children’s temptation to get everything they see in a
shopping center. As parents we know we can’t allow them to do so every time.
As a part of child’s training, train your child to get
responsibility of minor things according to their age, like for a three year
old allow her to take care of minor household chores or taking care of their
younger siblings.
Whenever you take your child for shopping and she starts
nagging to get a toy she sees in the shop, as most children do, use the
following tips to train her, so that she can learn an important lesson for life
time.
Children do not know that everything we get, we have to pay
for it. This is an important exercise to get her know this very basic principle
of life.
While nagging for a toy she sees in a shop, she displays a
very basic human instinct at a very small age. As a human, our instinct drives
us to achieve freedom in our choices. We want to do things we want. But, we can
get only things for which we have paid, not just in the day-to-day buying
process but also in life as general. We work hard to get food; we study hard to
qualify for an exam. We pay hardship for gaining a freedom of eating a food and
for gaining a degree of qualification, etc.
Practice these two simple exercises to teach her the very
basic principle of life, “Freedom does not come free”.
1. While your child nags for a toy, she sees in a
shop, tell her, she can only get this toy if she will do some of household
chore, which you taught her earlier. Like, she can get a toy when she will take
care of garden for a day, etc. This will help her to learn two things:
a.
Everything we get in life, we have to pay for
it. She will respect the transaction process and she will not exaggerate in
buying things. She will learn to get things only when she has worked for it.
b.
Her extra needs will be minimized. She will
start comparing things in her mind. Like better not to get a toy which I don’t
need than to work in the garden for a day.
2.Involve your child in your buying process of
your day-to-day groceries. It will let her satisfy her curiosity to buy
something every time she visits a shop. Like ask her to choose between soaps
and buy the one she chooses. Let her know which one to buy, which one is better
etc. It will help her to take her independent and sound decisions in her life.
While having fun she will learn many of the life’s important
lessons. It will also make your child’s relation stronger with you.
As a parent we struggle to teach our children things which
will help them to grow up as a stronger and wiser adult. Use day-to-day things
to teach them important lessons of life.
