Daily Meditation: Monday, October 31, 2011

Adults - are responsible for children’s development

10/31/2011

Every day, adults have decisions to make, and in order to make them they have to reflect and weigh the pros and cons. Children, on the other hand, are not yet able to reason or understand, so they only have to do what the adults ask of them. It’s not their place to question and decide whether something is good for them: their understanding will come later. A child’s approach is therefore the opposite of an adult’s. If children wanted to understand the validity of what they were being asked to do before they did it, they would never do anything. They have to obey, trusting the experience of the grown-ups who have understood things before they have. This trust helps them to facilitate the process of their own understanding. It is because children act on the instructions of adults – whether of parents or teachers, etc. – that they are able to develop. But adults should be aware of their responsibilities and pay careful attention to the advice and orders they give children.