Supporting the community, Parenting young children: Respect other people's lives, dignity and belongings

Aqmal always gave me his disagreeable look every time I gently asked him to stop doing certain things…things that young children else where also do when they gather and play together.

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I, of course, felt unhappy seeing that look on his face, nevertheless I still had to keep reminding him. Until that morning…

That morning was as hectic as usual. Aqmal was putting on his socks in a rush and focusing his attention on his milk which was still untouched on the dining table. His school bus would arrive at any minute and I wouldn’t let him go without drinking the milk. Then I stood in front of him and said firmly: “Aqmal stop doing it!”. He was so busy that he didn't respond by giving that nasty expression. Only, his eyes stared sharply at me. I knew that he paid attention to what I said to him very well.

What did I forbid him to do? Quite many actually, but that morning I especially told him not to make fun of his friends’ names.

The other day, one of Aqmal's school friends called him "Aqmal Dilviandrot", instead of his proper name "Aqmal Dilviandri". Aqmal responded by doing the same thing to that boy and also to another boy. Making fun of a friend’s name may sound trivial to some people, but I don't think so. To me, a person's name is a part of his dignity.

I want my children to be able to cherish three things from other people :

1. Their lives
2. Their dignity
3. Their belongings

We all saw the Palestine vs Israel war that went on for about three weeks rom December 2008 until early January 2009 on TV news day and night. About 1.300 people died including civilians and young children. Many more were wounded. What about their belongings? Their houses? Their schools and everything else? So much destruction!

I hope that my children could contribute something for our community and the world as well in order to be a much more peaceful place in the future.