Children Will Be Healthy, Well Behaved, And Intelligent If These Rules Are Observed

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Let us take a look at how our ancestors ensured that children grew up healthy, well-behaved, and intelligent.
To put it in simple terms, they followed the advice given in the scriptures.
This advice considers the physical, mental, and spiritual development of the child.
Our Sages and teachers knew that in Brahma's creation there are both Satwik and Tasmasik elements.
The satwik elements are called Daivi srishti and tamasik elements are called Asuri srishti.
This will always be there.
But they have to be balanced.
These elements are there inside everyone.
Only man has got the capability to control these.
A hungry lion can never show kindness to its prey.
A man can skip a meal and give it to another man or an animal.
This capability only man has got.
That means we can consciously control our behavior to achieve what we want.
If the satwik elements are prominent in you, then you will be kind towards all beings, honest, you will observe physical hygiene, you will have self-control, you will have humility, simplicity, desire to learn, you will be calm and peaceful, composed, sense of sacrifice, you will not be egoistic, you will be fearless, helpful.
These are all satwik and therefore Daivi or divine qualities.
Devas have these qualities, that's why we respect them, pray to them, and go to them when we have a problem.
People with Asuri nature, tamasik nature, they will have everything right opposite to these.
They have no discretion between right and wrong.
Everything that the parents do before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after the child is born has got great impact on the child's character and future.
Our ancestors knew this very well.
Pregnant women always used to be well dressed.
They wore ear ornaments..
Their hair, they kept well done up.
The husband was prohibited from going far away from the wife.
His care should be available throughout the pregnancy.
Impregnation for them was not an act of pleasure.
Astrologically they identified the right timing.
This had an impact on the child's future.
Impregnation was a spiritual act, not just a physical act.
You will be surprised if you see the meaning of the mantras chanted during garbhadhana.
The husband invokes Devatas onto his body before impregnation.
Divinity enters into the child right at the time of conception.
The prayer of the husband to Devatas is that, through me you enter into the womb and become a fetus.
During pregnancy, more samskaras are performed to improve the quality of the child and give protection to both mother and child.
Power of mantras is roped in for this.
Then the post natal samskaras such as jatakarma, namakarana, chowla, upanayana.
The mothers never used to scare the children for feeding them or to make them sleep.
Shastra specifically forbids giving any substance that will induce sleep.
They always used to keep the children clean.
Intimate moments between the husband and child should never be in the presence of the child.
Parents used to be very careful about the words they used in the presence of children.
They were very careful not to use bad words.
They were mindful even about the tone.
Always spoke softly in the presence of children.
Vulgar behavior, words, and acts were out of question in the presence of children.
At the time of learning to speak, the first words they were taught were the divine names of Gods and Goddesses.
Then simple shlokas and stotras.
Upanayana used to be performed at the age of five or seven.
After that, there was close monitoring of the child's behavior.
The guru used to teach them instructions like सत्यं वद, प्रियं वद, सत्यमप्रियं मा वद, प्रियं चासत्यं मा ब्रूहि.
Always speak the truth, never lie, truth also if it can hurt others try to avoid, don't speak untruth to please someone.
Don't speak something that is neither useful to the speaker nor to the listener.
Children were taught never to go back on their words.
A person who adheres to truth, his words become so powerful that whatever they say becomes the truth.
We hear about Rishis blessing and cursing.
They get this power by adhering to truth and honesty.
The nature of the food that you take affects your thinking and behavior.
Children were given only satwik food that too at fixed timings.
An idle mind is a workshop of the devil.
Children were not allowed to loiter away time.
Of course, there was time to play and rest but not to waste on distractions.
The child's time was meant for acquiring knowledge or developing a skill.
Even before he became a householder, the child was fully equipped to live the life of a responsible person and a citizen ready to contribute and sacrifice for the sake of the motherland.