Do Not Lecture Your Kids, Give Them A Tool

Mansour: I am going through a lot of soul searching with my 13-year-old. He is going through the rollercoaster of emotions and trying to come to terms with the world as it is being given to him, by school and society for instance. I am trying to follow Your advice that he should have fewer mental activities and more physical instead, go work out, etc. This morning we went to the gym and it was so eye opening that after we got out of the gym, he said ‘Dad, I feel so much calmer. I feel so much peace. Now I see why you were trying to drag me to the gym.’ That meant the world to me.
Sat: Yes, when you leave a child alone who is mental and emotional it is a disaster. When you leave a child alone who knows the Art of Living it is fantastic. They can manage, they don’t get into the mental too much. Until that, it is first physical, second, every chance you get, every time he shares something emotional or mental, don’t give him a lecture. Give him a tool!
Mansour: My learning in this process has been Your guidance on not lecturing or preaching to him. He is so resistant to that, but to let him remember the peace and calm that he is.
Sat says enthusiastically: That’s it! That’s it exactly! One sentence! I do that with My grandchildren (motions having a closed fist and then releasing it). They have a desire (motions again), what do we do? When they know what it is about, when they know, we have already explained that too much thinking takes your peace away, too many emotions make you agitated, etc. Then we don’t have to repeat it. If it needs to be explained to them again, again in a short sentence, you explain it to them again ‘this is why we are doing that honey. This is the reason,’ and then move on. Not too many times a day, we have to be very patient that the situation is just right for a drop! Otherwise, they give a deaf ear to it and it becomes too common! I am very happy to hear that.

USA Chat
August 14, 2022