Parenting

Emotion is among the most important stimulant for action as previously discussed, emotion commence since the early days of breast feeding stage then gradually develop when the child advance in age. When his societal surrounding broadens it influences his emotional development with changes in the thought the child believe, in the limit of his mental perception. Whenever the child believe that executing certain duty pleased his parents or Allah the most High it will induce him to execute it, the reverse is authentic. Possibly we divide emotion in four parts: Individual, social, exalted and ethical.

What we mean by individual emotion is the emotion that connect with ones personality like love for possession, love for independence, love of ascendancy over others, love for societal status and others to respect him. These are the emotions that fetch him personal benefit.

Exalted emotion is the emotion that develops in child with the limit of his mental perception to the elevated exemplary, he will then love to connect with the ONLY, that is Allah the most High, the source of kindness, wealth, and mercy and blessing, he will also love good and reality and there is nothing like attaining personal benefit in it.

The Social emotion is the emotion that prompts one to have connection with the others starting from the parents, brothers and sisters, close relations up till the community and the whole human beings.

The ethical emotion is the emotion that has link with prohibited and none prohibited types of conduct, like the link with truthfulness, avoiding telling lies and other commendable acts and commendable morals.

The best ways and method of developing the child's emotion by the parents is to make him feel of love through encompassing him with sympathy, mercy and satisfying his spiritual and material needs. When the child feel all this, he will duly connect with the source of that love and sympathy which are the parents and that will result to his trust in them and also to continue to imitate them and he will accept or satisfy with what will put forward by them regards thought, concept and others.

The child will be prepared to answer their commandments and executes their requests. The parents will then has control over his emotion and will be able to focus him towards a good direction, they should be following his speeches and activities especially when he is playing, it will then complement their work on developing and purifying his emotion in a suitable form with the concept and sound personality and has created equilibrate types of emotion with him. The most important emotion that is good to develop is the one towards Allah the most High. The feeling for love will be developed in him and his trust in Allah and sanctification to Him.

At a time he believes that Almighty Allah is the source of wealth, mercy and forgiveness, that He created ever lasting wealth in the Paradise for the Righteous and Obedient ones. It is compulsory upon the parents to develop the child's emotion towards the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his descendants) and the other Messengers and Prophets and the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them). The best way in this aspect is through narrating purposeful stories that will accomplish these two benefits.

Firstly: Deepings their love in his mind.

Secondly: Struggle to let him join their conduct in life.

Different emotion will develop inside him like love for sincerity, love for braveness, honor and sacrifice, love for sound conduct and personality. He will slay distance from all that they are distance from, and will develop the hatred, detestation and disinclined from those that contradict and stand against them and avoid their ways of life presently or in future to come.

Among the other method of developing the child's emotion is their continuous focus and guidance till the child comprehends the permitted and non permitted conducts and again encouraging having connection and relation with sound actions and personality. He should encourage with good words when he gives out something out of his playing instruments to another child and to replace it for him. Whenever he spokes truth or honor others or have mercy on the poor or assist his brother or his parents by executing some work, should be encourage for that by laudation, praise and commendation before him, the family, his close relations and his friends.

Dealing with children like friends encourage him to express his repressed emotion and feelings, this expression is beneficial to establish equilibrate emotion and refine the unpleased emotion.

Through experience we will find that narrative method as the best method of developing emotion especially the method that is suitable to his perception and mental ability. Possibly we can narrate to him stories of birds and animals that possess good and bad fundamentals. It will develop the emotion with him towards justice or assistance or sacrifice or other fundamental ethics. The emotion will be developed by loving the oppressed ones and hating the oppressors.

Stories about birds and animals are desirable by the children of this stage; they will listen attentively with interest and more desire than the real stories that comprise of many occurrences base on the imagination of the parents while narrating the stories.

Adapted from the book: "The Child's Education in Islam" by: "Ismail Abdullah"