B for Belief

Source

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. - Buddha

We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing. - Louisa May Alcott

Everyone needs to believe in something. This could be God, it could be an unerring belief that there is no God. It could be something more tangible like equality for all people, vegetarianism or democracy.

Children are not born with beliefs, they develop them as they learn from their parents, community and education. What do you believe in? What is important for you to teach your children to believe?

The most important beliefs to nurture however is what one believes about themselves.  

Advice and activities to explore belief with your child at home.

Try to make your beliefs, spiritual or otherwise, a part of your everyday life.  For example, a belief in charity could be nurtured by encouraging your child to give their old toys away, explaining that they are being given to help people who don’t have toys or perhaps enough food to eat.  

If you have a religious faith, encourage your child to ask questions of you.  It is important they find their own way to their beliefs.  

As your child gets older, they may not completely agree with your strongly held beliefs but if you are respectful of their opinions, they will develop respect for yours and those of others.  

A-Z - A for Attention

A – Attention

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. - Thich Nhat Hanh (Buddhist Monk)

Paying attention to the moment is an intrinsic part of spiritual practice. This is something that adults can really struggle with never mind children. However, we have all seen a child be completely absorbed for ages in a seemingly inane activity. As children get older, there are more demands on their time and their awareness becomes more external until as an adult multi-tasking is seen as an essential ability and they are checking their emails, whilst making dinner and talking to their

partner. This inhibits one's ability to pay attention to one thing or moment at a time.

Advice and activities to practice attention with your child at home

Do one thing at a time – put one toy or activity away before bringing the next one out. Take a moment of quiet between activities to mentally put one away before starting the next.

Don't have the television on in the background whilst your child is playing.

For younger children mind jars or snow globes are great as watching the snow or glitter settle holds attention and quiets the mind.

For older children an activity that they find challenging but not too difficult will hold their attention. If it is too difficult they will become frustrated and attention will stray. A puzzle of some description is good. This could be any kind of puzzle from an ability appropriate jigsaw to word search or crossword.

Instructions to Make a Mind Jar

Take a clean jar and fill ¾ with warm water and ¼ glycerine (available from chemists)

Add a teaspoon of glitter, a teaspoon of salt, food colouring (optional) and two drops of dish soap.

Screw on the lid and shake thoroughly.  Add more glitter or food colouring to your personal taste.  

When you are happy with your jar, glue the lid on.  There is little peaceful about damp glitter all over the carpet.

It should take up to two minutes for the glitter to settle depending on the size of your jar.

 

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