Parenting

During the teenage years, our children become increasingly independent. Adolescence is a dress rehearsal to prepare for the real world – adulthood. As scary as it is, our children are growing up.

The phrase “risk-taking,” more often than not, tends to have a negative connotation attached to it. It signals the probability of experiencing harm or danger, or risk which involves failure for the individual.

This life is a test. A test we all have been struggling through. It is also the test we wish our children will get through with ease but, deep down, we know it will be a struggle for them as well. So how do we prepare them for this test? 

Allah says in the Quran: 

Part of any efforts related to strengthening family ties is about making good use of existing resources and also learning about new ones.

I was born in Puerto Rico and spent half my childhood in “La Isla del Encanto” or the enchanted island as it is called. Years later, while in the U.S., I married into a large, multigenerational Ecuadorian family.

When my first-born child was about 6 years old, he started asking a lot of questions about our family. 

Elderly parents and relatives are a huge blessing in our lives. They are an integral part of our families as they help pass on tried and tested wisdom, help raise our children, and shower us with unconditional love. But what if that blessing becomes a test?