Constitution for Happier Homes - Part 3

For Children below 16 years:
Moral Behaviour:
Teach meditation and Kayakalpa	Knowledge about Gita, Bible, Koran, Granth Sahib etc
Knowledge about “Who am I?”	Viewing only Good Films
Meeting role models like A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Dr.Ramakrishnan, Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, Suinta Williams, V.Anand, P.Gopichand, Sachin, Pt.Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan etc	Thinking above sectional divisions like sex, colour, mother tongue, race, caste, nationality etc
Perform to get National Bravery Award	Understanding that smoking, consuming alcohol and taking to drugs is ruinous
Participate in Social/Constructive work	Earning even though a small sum through producing tiny goods through handicraft or intellectual work
Moral Conduct, Austerity, Humanism should be practised	Habit of writing Diary
Learn the techniques to analyse thought, Organisation of Desire, Avoidance of Anger, Eradication of Worry	Children should learn to respect other sex especially towards girl child and women
Saving Habit
Daily keeping records of income and expenditure	Saving money in Bank account
Education
Reading literary works in mother tongue	Participating in more quizzes and competitions
Learning national language Hindi from Dhakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha(a Gandhian Institution)	Read books like ‘Our Constitution’, My Experiments with Truth, Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History etc
Learning foreign languages (especially Asian languages first)	Learn Vedic Mathematics, Drawing good diagrams for school examinations etc
Participating in Social/Constructive work	Learn to read Phonetics written in Dictionaries
Become scholar in mother tongue	Learn typing
Pass National Talent Search Examination
Sports
Participate and try to win state level sports tournaments
Other Skills
Learn First Aid	Learn basic cooking
Join NCC/ NSS/ Green corps/ Scouts & guide etc	Learn Self Defence skills/Martial Art (Must for Girl Child)
Get Driving licence	Wash/ Iron clothes

For Children below 20 years:
Moral Behaviour:
Should get spiritual enlightenment	Should be broadminded person with wide world outlook
Get immense pleasure from doing social work	Should regularly donate blood
Should become Highly moral, Truthful and Respected	Should pledge to donate body and its parts upon death
Should become a great leader who removes sufferings of other living beings	Should respect elders and give importance to their advice and counselling
Saving Habit
Should become partially self supporting for ones day to day and educational expenditure by taking up part-time or apprenticeships etc	Should spend only for the essential things and activities. Should not hesitate to buy time or health or education
Education
Should become scholar in National language Hindi	Should have a deep scientific temper
Should actively seek for mentors and teachers to get personal education from scholars	Should take up self learning to get well versed in various fields of knowledge be it Accountancy or Agriculture. Should have an encyclopaedic knowledge.
Should have deep knowledge about Indian and world History	Should continue learning through correspondence or part-time for life
Should learn and master as many languages as possible	Should aim to do at least one doctorate
Should be well versed in compute operation
Sports
Should participate in National and International competitions and aim for medal at that level	Should have as high certificate as possible from NCC
Should deeply imbibe sportsmanship attitude	Should also take up adventure sports as hobby
Other Skills
Can become member of Nehru Yuva Kendra	Should not miss any voting opportunity during elections
Should actively participate in Youth parliaments events	Should read more than one newspaper and magazines
Should have deep knowledge about politics of the day	Should read newspapers and magazine from other countries and continent through internet
Should learn shorthand	Should actively write to letters to the editor
Can write story, novel, dramas, essays etc	Should be a citizen journalist
Should be well versed in public speaking and group discussions	Should have deep understanding of Government laws and social customs
Can become member of Youth Hostel movement	Should go for All India/ International tours
Should get passport

General Organisation of Family and children:
Family Children Club:
Children should form a club, have a club name, Emblem, motto, flag, Uniform etc. Can also be formed among the neighbours too	Should educate one another from what one learns from school, friends and relatives
Should have a common library, toys bank etc	Should cooperate and coordinate with fellow children without the need of external watch
Should jointly subscribe newspapers and magazine	Can jointly present programmes to TV and Radio
Should jointly celebrate Family day, Festivals including festivals of other religion and culture, under least cost	Elder children should be role models in studies and right behaviour
Can create a family magazine, blog or website
Things that should be there for children in every home:
Dictionary, Spelling Dictionary, Atlas, Encyclopaedia, National Book Trust books, Vigyan Prasar books etc	Wall Map, Globe, Telescope, Microscope, Magnifying Glass, Vigyan Prasar science self study kits etc
The Tribune, The Hindu … Newspapers and other magazines without only objectionable content. Remove the objectionable contents before they are read by children	Young World(The Hindu), Gokulam (Tamil/English), Tinkle, Tell me why, Magic Pot, Champak, Bal Bharathi(Hindi) etc
Check lists for Home
Outdoor games list	List of Toys at home
Indoor games list	Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly activity/Work/Plan chart for individual children
List of books in Home Library	Diary to track food, sleep, diseases etc of the child
Reminders for Home
Immunisation of the child	Wishing others on their birthday, anniversary etc
Bill payments	Renewal of memberships, insurance etc
Cleaning of overhead water tank etc

The highest gratitude a son/daughter can pay to his/her father is that when the father sees people admiring his sons/daughters character and education and when they exclaim “What hardship his/her father would have endured in upbringing him/her”. Thirukural (70)

To bring greater happiness, peace and harmony within our families, all members should have the desire, effort and patience

Source: From our forefathers; Word form: Murugaram, 2004; Email: peace2047@gmail.com

5

Constitution for Happier Homes - Part 2

Plan Document for Children’s upbringing:

Steps that can be taken by pregnant women to educate the child in the womb:
Moral Behaviour:
Married couples should transform themselves into ethically & morally upright individuals, imbibe higher values etc, before deciding to give birth to a child	Listen to spiritual, moral and educative discourse through TV, Radio, CD’s
Daily read a chapter of Thirukural or other similar moral text	Worship god daily according to the culture(If a believer)
Read moral stories and books in mother tongue, Amar Chitra Katha books etc	Visit place of worship/mediation twice daily (If a believer)
Education
Read history of India’s Freedom Struggle	Read good spiritual, women and current affairs magazine
Read books like ‘Kudumba Vilaku’, Premchand’s work or Shakespeare etc	Dream about the bright future for the child

Highest duty of the father is to educate his son/daughter to become the tallest among the scholars

– Thirukural (67)

For Children below 3 years:
Moral Behaviour:
Make them obedient to the advice of elders. Show respect towards God (If a believer) and Elders	Teach ‘Athichudi’ or small moral sayings/couplets
	Listen to Amar Chitra Katha and similar stories from elders
Education
Teach about family relationships, basic food habits, cleanliness, security measures	Teach some small songs

For Children below 5 years:
Moral Behaviour:
Parents should remove their shortcomings in ethical behaviour in order to become a role model for their children	Reading Short stories, Poems, Illustrated Books etc
Reading Thirukural or similar books	Training in personal hygiene
Visiting Temple/Church/Masjid and worshiping God	Habit of saying thanks
Speaking only Truth	Eating and Table manners
Habit of sharing things and food	Respect to National Symbols, Values and Leaders
Knowledge about current and past leaders of India	Helping in household chores. Children should be tutored to voluntarily share work
Practice simple exercises and yogic postures etc	Their decision making capacity can improved by asking them what to do for a particular issue/task.
Saving Habit
Saving money in piggy bank
Education
Check for learnability disorder, Autism and Dyslexia	Eye, hearing check-up
Teaching about objects at home, about the family’s history and tradition etc	Introduce all relatives and friends and explain the relationship
Sports
Teach the habit playing together with other children
Other Skills
Ability to dial and make phone calls	Make them memorise home address and phone number

For Children below 10 years:
Moral Behaviour:
By hearting full Thirukural or similar texts	Knowledge about religion and devotional songs
Learning about methods of worshiping God	Teach worshiping God through Bajans or devotional songs
Getting up early in the morning	Habit of watching TV and listening to Radio within the limits of time and appropriateness
Teach the habit of loving all things in nature	Teach them to respect all religion, caste, race, colour, sex etc
Take them to religious and tourist spots within the district	Allow them to watch only Good quality Children films
Tell them why certain religious and cultural habits are followed at home and explain the reason and the benefits of them	Knowledge about religious and cultural functions and events, its significance, method and benefits
Make them take part in cleaning and ordering things at home and make them obedient to all elders	Dressing should be simple and should evoke respect
They should be regularly taken to tour of Villages, Slums, hospitals, crematory functions to make them understand the realities of the world.	They should be made to derive happiness by sharing than possessing something
They should be taught about value of friendship and familial relations
Saving Habit
Open Children saving account in Post office
Education/Art
To improve handwriting consult good Graphologist	To refer spelling, meaning, details use Spelling dictionary, dictionary and Encyclopaedia
Teach Music, Dance, Painting etc	Learn letter writing skill (Snail Mail)
Create a Children library at home	Learn reading of Newspaper/Magazine
Teach them Kolam/Rangoli. It improves dexterity of hand and sharpens the mind	Learn about geography and History of India beyond the limits of the text books
Teach them Mother Tongue/ Tamil/ Hindi/ Sanskrit/ Arabic/ English etc	Read Gokulam(Tamil/English), Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, Magic Pot, Tell me why, Wisdom, The Hindu – Young World, Champak, Bal Bharati (Hindi) etc
Take up membership in Local/District Library, Bal Bhavan, British Council/ Alliance Frances/ American Centre etc	Practice hobbies like Stamp collection
Select schools like Navodaya, Army School, Military School, Kendriya Vidyalaya etc. Adopt CBSE syllabus - NCERT Textbooks	Make a excursion to outstation tourist spots at least once a month
Participate in spelling bee contest	Take part in Quiz, Art and Culture, Sport, Literary competitions
Sports
Habit of playing sports like Football, Badminton, etc	Participate in District level Sports competitions
Take up mind games like Chess, Business, Scotland Yard etc	Should participate in Independence day and Republic Day parade/march past
Other Skills
Learn Cycling, Swimming (Both Compulsory) ,Wheel Skating etc	Should have concern for environment, reduce wastes, plant trees etc

See Part 3