Need for parents to take a cultural journey themselves
                     Need for parents to take a cultural journey 
themselves
  
  Uma Bharati
  Writes articles for Gurucool.fun, on topics like
  Indian culture for kids and Indian culture for children.
Parents are undoubtedly the most important role models for their children, at 
least when they are really young. In order to set the children up for success, 
parents need to take a cultural journey. It is to be kept in mind that your kids 
would be following your example. To guide them to be culturally-rooted, you 
would have to set an example by taking up a cultural journey yourself.
It is the mindset of the parents that create an impression among the children. 
In case if you are wondering why it is being difficult to get your children 
excited about their roots and culture, the following factors might have a role 
to play:
Traditions: Every culture revolves around certain traditions and habits, 
deviating from which can hamper the cultural cultivation among kids. For 
instance, the Indian culture puts considerable emphasis on knowledge and 
light. This is why oil lamps lit at temples and even homes are never put out. It 
signifies the importance of the permanent presence of the light of positivity. 
Hence lighting a lamp at home everyday in the morning and evening will pave 
way for your children to watch you and start questioning, thereby learning.
Knowledge: Parents can share with their kids the knowledge they possess. 
However, a common problem with cultural cultivation among the children of 
today's generation is that their parents lack the necessary cultural knowledge. 
For instance, you may expect your children to be as traditional as you were at 
their age. However, it is possible that your parents possessed more cultural 
knowledge and were able to mould you better. Also, comparing different 
generations is not productive. So equip yourselves with valid answers to your 
children's questions or find the answer together with your children to help 
them get to the root of cultural practices.
School teachings: What your children learn at school might not be the best 
teachings for cultural development. In the contemporary world, most schools 
emphasize 'modernization' and care more about having good-looking 
uniforms and sophisticated facilities. While none of these is bad, it is also 
necessary for the school to teach children the necessary cultural values. At 
the end of the day, your child needs to learn how to live his/her life with the 
righteous values, in order to excel in his intellectual pursuit.
Lifestyle: The lifestyle maintained in your home is crucial for the cultural 
development of your kids. Lifestyle is an integral part of culture and vice 
versa, which makes it important to maintain a lifestyle that would foster the 
traditional culture among your children. If traditional clothes are worn and 
traditional food is eaten at home at least on occasions, the child is more likely 
to follow the traditions too.
Family mindset: As mentioned earlier, the mindset of the parents greatly 
influences that of the children. Kids learn considerably from their parents' 
mindset, behavior, and actions. This is why it is necessary to teach through 
example. If the parents don't follow the traditions much or don't attend 
cultural events, it is unrealistic for them to expect their child to be culturally 
sound. 
Thus, culture plays a major role in shaping your kids' personalities. In case 
your child doesn't want to follow the traditions and against sociocultural 
norms, improper cultural cultivation can quite possibly be a reason behind it. 
Parents need to allocate some time to refresh themselves about the things 
that were passed on by their parents and elders during their upbringing. 
There is nothing wrong in reaching out to elders and asking them what 
important things that parents should imbibe in their children. Modern 
lifestyles, work pressures, and conditions are constraints that can be 
overcome by some efforts on part of parents to provide a proper cultured 
upbringing to their children. Yes, it needs some effort but it is worth it.
About Gurucool
Gurucool conceptualises and creates exciting games and activity kits for 
introducing positive values to children in a way they would appreciate & 
remember them. Our objective is to inspire young minds with ancient Indian 
wisdom in a fun way. We work hard to deliver the feel of Indian culture in a 
dynamic & interesting way it deserves to be learnt in to today’s kids.
Thank you for your precious time in reading this Article