Buddhist guidance for young children...

dr.gee

I seek good means for teaching Buddhist principles to a 4 and 6 yo.I try to stress the basics in day to day life but need help when more involved questions arise. I have ordered a couple of books that look interesting,but would like to develop a more structured teaching plan.

thoughts?experiences?recs?

taiyaki

have you ever seen the movie, "choke"?
the mother sets up insane situations for the child to teach "the child" lessons.
lol that's what this reminds me of.

all you can really do is model for "the children" your behavior. i taught elementary school kids for a while. you cannot force ideology onto a child...well you can try, but they tend to not listen to you.

kids are more visual. meaning the see, they do.

so if you practice buddhist principals in your life, your "children" or "people" in general will follow what you do just by being around you.

if you don't follow or if you shove it down their throats. prepare for the exact opposite to happen. though it can also happen even if you do model "buddhist" behavior. kids are quite complex.

wish you luck.

Theswingisyellow

I have 4 and 7 year olds and am in kinda the same boat. As taiyaki has suggested the example you set is probably the most important, seeing how you deal with difficult emotions, stressors and how you conduct your self day to day. I have discussed, in a very general way, annata, annica, and dukkha. My karma explantion to them is "good gets good, bad gets bad"- showing them their actions have results and when they make good choices I make an effort to reward that. My kids will sit and meditate with me, usually for just a few minutes, I try to do this with them at night before they go to bed. I generally will give them something concrete to focus their attention on, such as a candle flame. With my 4 year old he takes a journey to his panda (pandas are his favorite animal) and he will sit with and ride on his panda. I am also trying to get him to visualize his panda when he is upset or has afflictive emotions. I encourage him to talk to his panda and let him know how he feels. This has been good and calming for him. My 7 year old is less emotional by nature and tends to not get so caught up as my 4 year old. When he meditates he will usually focus on his breath or the candle. I also touch on the 4NT's and the N8 with them. I would seriously love to hear how others manage this same question.
With metta,
Todd

DhammaDhatu

S 55.7 Veludvareyya Sutta: The Golden Rule/How to practice the 5 Precepts

http://sites.google.com/site/dharmafarer2/sam.yuttanikayya

Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta: Instructions to [7 year old] Rahula at Mango Stone

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.061.than.html

hermitwin

IMO, one of the best thing you can do for kids is not to allow them to
watch advertisements on tv.
Stories with morals are helpful.
Explain to them the practical benefits of being generous, kind.
eg. if you share with others, others will most likely share with you.
And the detriment of selfishness & pride.

hermitwin

I am reminded of the most famous philantropist in Pakistan.
Ever since young his mom gave him $2 everyday.
He can spend $1 on himself but he must spend $1 on a needy friend.
That taught him to care for others & now he has hospitals for the poor , etc.