Rashmita was in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Her two teenage children were chattering away with visiting friends. She was not paying much attention but her ears perked up when she realised they were talking about the latest scam. One of the boys was discussing the amount of money involved and it almost seemed that he was full of admiration for somebody who could actually make so much money, albeit dishonestly, and then get away with it! Rashmita held her breath as she waited for the response. Her daughter’s voice rang out with complete conviction. “That is just so wrong at every level’, she said. “Nothing can justify dishonesty and uncontrollable greed.” Rashmita felt her heart swell with pride- at least she had given her children a sense of right and wrong.

Goals for a parent

All parents want to do the best for their child. They will stint and scrounge on their own expenses so that they can provide their children with education and opportunities. If we think the child has potential in music or sports, we do everything in our means to help the child flourish and shine.

Are these goals enough? A child needs to be taught a strong set of values and needs reinforcement regularly to make the decision between right and wrong. Different children may have different talents but every child has the power to become a morally upright, decent human being. Therein lies the parent’s responsibility.

What can we teach our children?

Conscience: Every child is born with an innate sense of right and wrong, and an inbuilt knowledge of what is fair. These sensibilities can either be sharpened or blunted as the child grows; a parent has the immense moral burden of passing on these values. We have to reinforce the concept of listening to the inner voice that tells us when we are crossing the line from acceptable to unacceptable behaviour.