“Our community has changed. There was a time when we all were obsessed with the housework that we had no time for our children. They would grow in mud and cold. When we took these classes on how to treat children, it was like our eyes had finally opened. Everything we were doing was the opposite of what we were supposed to do.There is a lot of work in these households. We rely on farming for food so that means we all have to work in the fields. That was important. There was no concept of “spending time with our children”. For us to be able to provide food for them was enough. Maybe it was because that was how we were brought up.

I have realised paying attention to a child is necessary. Mainly because even as a child they communicate. They have things to say. Sometimes the things they say silly but nonetheless, they seek attention. Even as adults we seek attention so a child is no different.

It is also the duty of the parents to guide a child. If they are counting beans, you sit and count with them. If they are asking about a stone, you tell them what it is. If they want to come and sit in your lap, you let them. I do that with my children. And they are interested in what I have to say. They have become more inquisitive about the world around them. Sometimes they ask me questions to which I do not even have an answer. But I try my best.

Things are changing in the work. Buses have arrived. Roads are being built. There is a lot of competition. When my children grow there is going to be stress in their lives. To enable them to take on the problems that come with living, parents play an important role. We have to listen. We have to understand them. We have to vent our frustrations and anger somewhere else and not on them. We have to guide them as to what is right and wrong. We have to correct ourselves. And above all, we have to love them so that they also learn to love others.”

(Kalika C, Jajarkot)

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