One of the factors of children’s bad behavior in the present societies is that “They often don’t experience the hardships of ordinary life!” Hence, when they face a problem in their lives, afterward, they wonder, “Why has this problem happened?!” That is, they don’t expect any problem to happen!
Some schools in Canada take the children to the forest, from the morning to the evening, to experience the hardships of living in the forest! There, experiencing those difficult situations, the children are taught whatever the teachers have intended.
[*Translator: In this regard, Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh) gave the example of baking bread which is a hard activity. He believed that God made it difficult, because humans are grown mentally well through hardship, and they won’t be corrupted.]
His Excellency also continued,
جُعل الخبز متعذّرا لایُنال اللّا بالحیله والحرکه لیکونَ للانسان فی ذلکَ شُغُلُ یکفّه عمّایخرجخُ الیه الفرغُ مِن الاشر والعبث;
Bread was made impossible to obtain except by means of smartness and movement, so that man would have a job in that, to protect him from what brings him emptiness from evil and futility.
Haven’t you seen the children who are left to some others, to treat them? It’s though, they are not at the age of teaching yet?! They do it, to avoid the children being busy with some nonsense and absurd games! [Yes,] the nonsense and absurd games harm both the children and adults.
The same is true here. God has made the people busy with difficulties, to be far from idleness, violence, and corruption, as same as what he has done with children!
Take a look at the people who have become corrupted, due to too much ease!
الا تَری انَّ الصّبیّ یُذفعُ الی المودّب
Cannot you see the boy [child] who is treated/ brought up by a moderator/ teacher?
The prophet (pbuh&h) stated, “God dislikes the idle youth! He gets angry at them.
إنَّ اللَّه یُبغِضُ الشّابَّ الفَارِغَ (محجه البیضا ، 131/7 )
[In fact,] God gets angry at the idle/ carefree youth! ) Muhajah al Baitha, 7/131)
These days, for the free time of adolescents, our country has established some rules. But they order the high school teens (older than 14) who have the energy and capability to work, “Just study your lessons!” Yet, just a little of his time is spent studying, and he doesn’t have anything to do for the rest of his time.
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