AdminHazrat Ml Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi Sahib rahimahullah commenting on childcare writes:
1. Childhood habits, whether vice orvirtuous, are long-lasting. They will stay lifelong.
2. Ensure that children only sit in good company.
3. Never scare children.
4. Feed them at fixed times.
5. Keep them clean and tidy.
6. Impose some duties on them to develop responsibility.
7. Don’t make them fashion-conscious. Don’t dress them extravagantly.
8. Don’t create a love for jewellery in girls from a young age.
9. Encourage children to be charitable by giving food, etc to the poor. However, minors shouldn’t be asked to give away anything which belongs to them as this is not permissible. Parents should give them something (money, food, etc.) to give to the poor with their own hands.
10. Discourage them from overeating.
11. Teach them to refrain from screaming when speaking.
12. Don’t permit them to read evil and useless magazines and papers (and novels etc).
13. Narrate to them the stories of the Ambiyaa (alayhimus-salaam), Sahabah (radiallahu anhum) and pious people.
14. Create in them the habit of sleeping early in the night and rising early in the morning.
15. Don’t allow them to sleep very early.
16. Never tolerate any bullying tactics by children.
17. Never satisfy their stubbornness and persistence.
Extracted from Miscellaneous Advices of Hazrat Ml Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi رحمه الله