How To Teach Your Children Calmness and Peaceability
I find the world today far too loud and too noisy. Everyone is
talking louder and louder, trying to be heard. Everyone need
something. The only way to get someone's attention is to yell
louder than they are yelling. All these lead to people getting
easily frustrated, angry and for some, violence. There is a need
for more calmness and peacefulness.
Unknown to many people, the loud noises from TV programme (e.g.
car chases, gun shots, murder, soap opera drama), rock music,
traffic on the road, screaming from adults and children etc
often cause a lot of imbalance to our emotion and sometime lead
to unnecessary conflicts with other people.
A person who is calm and peaceful tend to be more accommodating
rather argumentative. He often has the ability to understand how
others feel rather than simply reacting to them. He is better in
controlling his temper.
We need to teach our children calmness and peacefulness which
provide them the security. Ability to maintain peace and control
our temper is a very powerful and important value that is
largely to produce love and create a harmonious home and work
place. Understanding is the key. Children who are taught to try
to be understand why things happen and why people behave in
certain way at certain time will become calmer, and better in
control. They will also have better relationship with people.
Peaceability means understanding, calmness, patience, control
and accommodation. They are the opposite of anger, losing one's
temper, impatience and irritation. Peaceability does not mean
the elimination or ignoring of emotion but rather to control
them and to prevent them from causing hurt to other people.
Calmness and peaceability help others and ourselves feel better
and feel to work better with one another. They are important
values and contagious in nature. As you develop and demonstrate
these qualities within you, other people will "catch" them or be
influenced by you too, especially your children.
Here are some general guideline to teach your children calmness
and peaceability:
Create a Peaceful Environment at Home. You can improve calmness
in your home by:
- Playing restful music e.g. classical and baroque music such as
Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Handel's Water Music and Johann
Pachelbel's Canon in D. These music create a feeling of
relaxation, order and peace. They also help to concentrate
better and being more creative in the things we do.
- Switch off the TV and invest the time with your children and
spouse, talking and listening to what they have to say about
their day in school, at work or at home. If you do this regular
enough, your relationship with your family also improve
tremendously. There is a greater sense of closeness among you.
- Controlling the tone and decibel level of your own voice. Do
not yell as yelling destroy a peaceful atmosphere.
- Touching others in your family when you talk to them e.g. put
on a shoulder or arm as your speak to someone. Look at their
eyes when you are talking to them also help.