survive better than those on the vicissitudes of chances.

In about the year 1954 a public meeting was convened for the purpose of forming a Tenants Association and seeking legislation to protect the interest of the tenants. When a reporter asked why a young boy of about 22 was elected to the responsible post of the Secretary, the Chairman of about 60 replied that the boy too came forward and spoke his mind seeing himself equal to those elderly who spoke their mind; and that they all being equal, the big difference in his age was the plus point for his unopposed election!

According to the holy Qur'an, one earns according to what one struggles for. "And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for"(53:39). Age is not a barrier. Parents should steer and set the child onto the fields of struggle. Taqwa is a crucial one among such fields: "And whoever desires the hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be accepted. " (17: 19).

It is reported that in a community of boat people somewhere in a Far East jungle, children are let into the water and learn to float, like adults, even before they can walk!

Let me end with this note: There is little for the parents to do about the length of childhood of their children but can do much about its width and depth. It is rightly said that men are what their parents made them.

However, with regard to parental protection, the child needs it, not any less like an adult son or daughter but in diminishing proportion to his advancing age. Over-protection is counter productive like a ship which the owner keeps in the safety of a harbour, but this is not what ships are built for!