While on a pilgrimage, watch the young children who join their parents in the congregation of salaat-al-sub'h in the haram of Mecca or Medina when the recitation from the Qur'an during Qiyaam is long. They, though young for the obligatory prayers, but being from the foreign countries, join the parents in the prayers. Their hands and legs cannot remain still while the long recitation from the Qur'an continues. With some there are also sudden body-jerks as if caused by a prick of a pin. This is a typical nature of a child; a healthy one.

Now what can be more hateful to the child than to be made to sit still and quiet in a corner as a punishment or for want of silence in the house while the father is entertaining visitors or quietly engaged in reading news-papers. The father even forgets for some moments the restraint which he has imposed on the child.

How unkind it is to the child when he is made to sit erect on a chair with his eyes glued boringly into a book while he can hear his friends, among the children in the neighbourhood, expending their extra energy by playing in the backyard of the house, and he is normally with them as usual at that time of the day or week-end.

Dictates Of His Nature.
,Why should the child be subjected to sitting still and quiet for even half an hour when his productive concentration even in a lively class in the school is not that much long, and for good reason. A child may be watching his favourite programme of sports on the TV, and yet, despite his intense engrossment, he would suddenly stand up and go through a solo motion of imitating the players in short spells of energy-releasing- stunts, only to sit back and resume watching the programme. Here is a healthy child responding to the dictates of the nature in him while the parents want to discipline him against that nature.

When the parents choose to be disciplinarian on the wrong footing, the likely reaction from the child can be either to rebel against any such measures of discipline which militate against a child's nature or to tolerate the measures only to misconstrue, " them as the parents' dislike or indeed hatred for the child. Both are an unhealthy way of manifesting parental concern or affection. The memory keeps lingering when the childhood experiences are emotionally unpleasant.

One more caution. Engaging the child in long sessions of prayers regularly with adults or like them is most likely' to develop in him a dislike for the prayers while the intention for such engagement is to make him to like the prayers. The reason for this is no different from what has been discussed hereinabove.

So when the child is heard jumping noisily under the shower while also shouting and splashing in the bath-room, bring on the face not a frown in silent protest of his heady behaviour. but a broad smile in silent acknowledgment of his healthy behaviour. Of