“Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child” – Maria Montessori
What is peace? Can it be taught to children? Will they understand what it means and how important it is?
Peace can mean a lot of things, it can mean inner peace, community peace and of course, world peace. As we know, there is a lot going on in the world and it is not as peaceful as we’d want it to be. So, it is very easy for young minds to get influenced by external factors and learn from them. Hence, it is of paramount importance that we do everything in our power to shape young minds to think and act in accordance with peace.
Even for a child, peace starts from within, which in turn has an effect on the community. Each child attains inner peace in a different way. A few may like to sit by themselves for a while and enjoy their leisure time, a few indulge in arts/ crafts, a few like to listen to rhymes and music. It is important that we as parents and teachers respect their space and give them the time to understand themselves and what makes them feel good.
Community peace is nothing but peace in a classroom, at their home and with their friends. Once a child has peace within, he tends to develop a warm personality. During this time, we as caregivers play a huge role. We should imbibe good values in children, for example, what is right and wrong, how to behave with friends, the importance of being kind and considerate, forgiving, caring for the environment, being empathetic towards others, managing aggressive behaviour, etc. All of these values contribute towards creating a peaceful community.
Is it enough to tell them the importance and expect them to understand it? No, it is not. You must be very well aware that when your child hears you say something or sees you do something, the first thing he/she tends to do is imitate you. So what does that mean? It simply means that we are the ones to set an example to our children. When we as adults practice little things like being kind and saying thank you, our children follow us. Therefore, let us exhibit peace and warmth to our children and we can see how they’ll do the same in no time.
We might wonder how this could possibly help world peace. But these are the little things that count. Some inner peace leads to some community peace and when it spreads from one person to another, you can only imagine what huge difference you’ve already made in this big wide world.
A very happy international peace day to all!
Author: Vaishnavi G
