ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸੁੱਖ ਸਾਗਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਨਾਲ ਜੋੜਨ ਦਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਵਧੀਆ ਉਪਰਾਲਾ

[singhbj singh]

 

[Jonny101]

The best way to attach your kids to Sikhi is through Gurbani. Get them to do Paath and Gurbani Santhiya from a young age. Reward them for memorizing Gurbani. these proactive steps should be taken if you want your future generations to remain in Sikhi.

[jkvlondon]

I can understand people wanting encourage kids but this is kind of self-defeating because the kids want to gain Maya so read gurbani and that is a problem because that mentality is what Guru Sahiban told us not to have .... Tricky , maybe reward them with the opportunity to have a Gurcharani Lagna ceremony if they successfully complete santhiya or lead prayers if they complete bani santhiya  , so the praise and encouragement of the sangat helps them see the value .

[dallysingh101]

15 hours ago, jkvlondon said:

I can understand people wanting encourage kids but this is kind of self-defeating because the kids want to gain Maya so read gurbani and that is a problem because that mentality is what Guru Sahiban told us not to have .... Tricky , maybe reward them with the opportunity to have a Gurcharani Lagna ceremony if they successfully complete santhiya or lead prayers if they complete bani santhiya  , so the praise and encouragement of the sangat helps them see the value .

I understand your point, but it can also build a sort of dependence on the 'sangats' approval which can easily get twisted into something a bit needy and insecure. 

[jkvlondon]

6 minutes ago, dallysingh101 said:

I understand your point, but it can also build a sort of dependence on the 'sangats' approval which can easily get twisted into something a bit needy and insecure. 

or maybe just give them a chance to partake of paat sewa for daily routine so, there is self-reliance of local sangat leaving the granthi free to do more katha/arth discussions with sangat so everybody's becomes more informed ...

[dallysingh101]

It's a tricky one. Getting kids to do something that doesn't have direct, tangible, easily explainable rewards like: study hard and get a well paid cushy job in future. Train and look better and be physically stronger. And not linking these spiritual pursuits to a desire for material items is so important, otherwise we just build in a deeply contradictory dynamic into the kids lives. It's like a massive own goal.  

It helps if kids love reading in general and singing in my experience. Maybe focus on the singing bit, improving the beauty of recital before jumping into the more deep 'arth' aspects of it. Actually, 'feeling' it is, as important as understanding it in my opinion. 

[Guest Jacfsing2]

Another better option is to actually have Gursikhs from which the kids can get interested from. Most of the time people try making others better, rather than look at themselves, Daas became more interested in Sikhi from seeing who actual Gursikhs were and their Chardi-Kala and other high qualities instead of the whole education aspect. (Basically avoid Missionary Gurdwaras and avoid Liberal Gurdwaras and you'll basically get Gursikhs). Look at Tapoban, they seem to be great at making the youth interested in Sikhi. even though it has a different approach to things than the rest of the western Gurdwaras.

[dallysingh101]

9 minutes ago, Jacfsing2 said:

Another better option is to actually have Gursikhs from which the kids can get interested from. Most of the time people try making others better, rather than look at themselves, Daas became more interested in Sikhi from seeing who actual Gursikhs were and their Chardi-Kala and other high qualities instead of the whole education aspect. (Basically avoid Missionary Gurdwaras and avoid Liberal Gurdwaras and you'll basically get Gursikhs). Look at Tapoban, they seem to be great at making the youth interested in Sikhi. even though it has a different approach to things than the rest of the western Gurdwaras.

I think different strokes for different folks applies here. If I had only gone to the type of people you mention above I personally, would have got put off real quickly. But I get that other people actually prefer this environment. 

I guess what we can learn from this is that getting kids enthused and proficient with their faith is no one-fix or one-strategy problem. Natural diversity between children means that what works for one could be the opposite for another. But the whole idea of material rewards for 'being a good Sikh child' and learning your prayers seems starkly contradictory and a dangerous precedent. Our people  are already massively materialistic as it is - here we appear to be tying that instinct/greed/desire to practices that are meant to loosen the hold of materialism on us, not encourage it.  

 

Tricky.

[Guest Jacfsing2]

1 hour ago, dallysingh101 said:

I think different strokes for different folks applies here. If I had only gone to the type of people you mention above I personally, would have got put off real quickly. But I get that other people actually prefer this environment. 

I guess what we can learn from this is that getting kids enthused and proficient with their faith is no one-fix or one-strategy problem. Natural diversity between children means that what works for one could be the opposite for another. But the whole idea of material rewards for 'being a good Sikh child' and learning your prayers seems starkly contradictory and a dangerous precedent. Our people  are already massively materialistic as it is - here we appear to be tying that instinct/greed/desire to practices that are meant to loosen the hold of materialism on us, not encourage it.  

 

Tricky.

There should obviously be parents educating their children; however, even if someone knew the entire Janam Sakhi of Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (who is the greatest one, ever), that individual would still go the other way. History is a good thing to start with; however, it shouldn't be the only knowledge. Try to get them to fall in love with Sikhi would actually be easier if while you teach them Gurbani you can mention Sikh events directly related to those lines of Gurbani. (For example,"ਜਉ ਤਉ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਖੇਲਣ ਕਾ ਚਾਉ ॥ जउ तउ प्रेम खेलण का चाउ ॥ Ja▫o ṯa▫o parem kẖelaṇ kā cẖā▫o. If you desire to play this game of love with Me, ਸਿਰੁ ਧਰਿ ਤਲੀ ਗਲੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਆਉ ॥ सिरु धरि तली गली मेरी आउ ॥ Sir ḏẖar ṯalī galī merī ā▫o. then step onto My Path with your head in hand. ਇਤੁ ਮਾਰਗਿ ਪੈਰੁ ਧਰੀਜੈ ॥ इतु मारगि पैरु धरीजै ॥ Iṯ mārag pair ḏẖarījai. When you place your feet on this Path, ਸਿਰੁ ਦੀਜੈ ਕਾਣਿ ਨ ਕੀਜੈ ॥੨੦॥ सिरु दीजै काणि न कीजै ॥२०॥ Sir ḏījai kāṇ na kījai. ||20|| give Me your head, and do not pay any attention to public opinion. ||20||" Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang 1412, somebody can talk about Baba Deep Singh Ji or how Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji gave his life to save another group of people). Parents should be willing to adjust to their children's way of learning, not the other way around, (so whenever Daas becomes a parent in the future; I'll have to adjust to teaching them in their particular way instead of just imposing the one size fits all model).

[Akalifauj]

Every kid learns differently.  There is not one rule for all.  Some need a bigger nudge than others and require immediate results for their work.  As they get older the Gurdwara and parents should be teaching the children about the deeper message of Gurbani and majority of them will attach the reward to the message.  Some kids from a young age understand the deeper message and don't need the material push.  Sangat makes a huge change in a kids life.  If the kid is around a parent who shows signs of being upset, mad, or frustrated when losing or not receiving something material after working for it.  The child will learn this behaviour and apply it to his problems.  Some kids are born in a nastik household, but their grandparents take them to the Gurdwara whenever they can and these kids want to do seva and simran without receiving a material reward for it.  They enjoy the act of simran and seva and receive a direct reward from it.  For those kids that need a material reward.  It would be beneficial, if the reward was to better their health or some challenging game to helps develop them mentally.