Don’t Curse Children Don’t curse your children or verbally insult them Don’t demean them or humiliate them Children have emotional needs, which if neglected, will no doubt result in defiant patterns of behaviour and an unsettled child. Love, warmth, mercy and companionship is what they must have. Its the basic role of parenting to fulfil these needs – whether through kisses, hugs, kind words and time spent together. Whenever the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed by children, he would greet them, put his hands on their heads and pick up the small ones in his arms. Anas ibn Malik (RA) said,
I served the Prophet for ten years, I lived with him for ten years and not once did he rebuke me. Not once did he say the word ‘uff’. He never said to me why did you do this or why didn’t you do that.
The home was always meant to be a safe place, in which no harm is done. And when one thinks of harm, one mechanically thinks that as long as the child is not hit, then they are not being harmed, which is simply untrue. One of the definitions of “home” holds that it is the abiding place of affection. It is the place of nurture and development in which the foundations for the rest of one’s life are set. No father or mother can pass on life-skills or a develop a strong moral personality without a strong bond. Harshness yields nothing. The home needs an atmosphere benevolence in order to induce warmth. Not a single person out there has a reason not to smile in the face of their child. The Prophet Muhammad lost his mother, father, grandfather, uncle, two wives and his sons, yet his most consistence practice was his smile. Start with a gift if you must. Aisha (RA) said
Exchange presents with one another for it adds the bonds of affection among you.