As a mom do you feel the pressure to be the one who will pass on culture to your kids? I have heard from multiple sources that it’s “maa ka kaam” to pass on traditions and teach religion to our children. Afterall, isn’t that why everyone wants a “sanskaari bahu” 😉?!
As with everything in parenthood I question why one parent should be responsible for it all. Growing up my mom taught us our mantras and traditions while my dad fostered our love of mythology with his Amar Chitra Katha collection. Dad would wake up early on Sundays to drive us to Balvihar so we could learn the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita while Mom would quiz us on our Hindi homework — the responsibly was shared, both playing on their strengths to teach us what they could.
I bring this up because when you live in a joint family it’s easy to expose children to their roots as grandparents generally take on that roll. In the day of the nuclear family that responsibility falls directly on the parents. Quite often I hear from women saying they feel obligated to be the main resource for anything culture related. I recently took a pole on my Instagram page and 80% of my readers said culture was passed on by their Mother’s, I kind of expected that but what I didn’t expect was the 90% who said it was a Mom’s responsibility for their kids as well.
In a time where we are pushing for balanced parenting and raising our kids to be equally knowledgeable, the pressure is still put on the mother. In this day and age that should not be the case, we should be teaching our children impartially and expect both the mother and the father to contribute to the cause. Here are some ways Dads can get involved in the culture conversation and help pass down the love for language and religion.
Play on your strengths.
Is one of you more fluent in your mother tongue? Who feels more passionately about religion? Know and appreciate your partners strengths and lean on them to share their knowledge accordingly. For us while we are both fluent in Hindi, my husband knows how to read and write it where as I am better versed at mantras and religious stories. We try and spend time teaching our daughter what we know based on our strengths.
Use your tools.
Gone are the days of filling up our suitcases full of Hindi books from India. Thanks to some very passionate people we have some wonderful resources at our finger tips.
Bhaasha Basics, Bolo Bolo Baby and Sanskar Teaching all have language learning tools that are simple, engaging and beautiful.
Be practical.
Teaching religion and culture goes beyond activities and books. Dad’s can get involved in everyday tasks like cooking their favorite cultural dish or starting their own traditions on festivals. Small everyday efforts plant the seeds for cultural growth.
Do it for the culture.
We are lucky to have a variety of cultural resources at our fingertips. Dad’s, use them to your benefit!
Share your love of India with products from Indigrow & Toka Box.
Read them cultural stories with books from Bharat Babies, T4Tales, and Desi Babies.
Show them the power of religion with interactive toys from Modi Toys and Jai Jai Hooray.
Learn as you go.
The best way to teach your children is to keep learning. There are oftentimes a story that I know about a festival that my husband doesn’t, when I tell our little one, my husband is just as keen to learn. Dad’s can read books, and watch shows to help them gain the knowledge. Here’s a post of some of my favorite cultural books for adults.
Who is the cultural torchbearer in your family?
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