The child's organism develops according to certain rules and laws that God has embedded in our physiology. They are simple and understandable to anyone who wants to study them and delve into them. They do not require large capital investments and are always accessible to anyone who desires.
Silence and peace are the best environment for full and harmonious growth and development of children. Silence is the absence of noise and irritants to the nervous system, and this is not simply the absence of sounds, but a state of inner and outer peace, when nothing distracts, pressures, or overloads the senses. It can be physical—with the complete absence of any sounds. Emotional—when there is peace and tranquility in the heart, absence of anxiety and bustle, even when it's noisy around. Spiritual—when the heart is free from fear, and consciousness can hear God's voice, receive instruction from above and know the greatness of the Creator.
There are natural sounds that do not carry emotional burden and have a beneficial effect on children's psyche and give a sense of peace and tranquility—these are the sound of wind in tree leaves, the sound of falling and flowing water, bird songs, the rustle of fallen leaves underfoot.
And what surrounds the modern child living in large cities? Traffic noise, siren wails, an abundance of advertisements and bright posters, urban rush and bustle, sounds of popular music from all sides, shining and flashing lights, all kinds of attractions and entertainment events. Although this may not come crashing down all at once and at one time, and noise differs from noise, such irritants do exist in city life. But even in such conditions, one must learn to protect their children from any harmful influence from outside.
And what fills the everyday life of an ordinary modern person? A turned-on television, sounds of radio or pop music, movies and cartoons, mobile internet on tablets and smartphones, computer games and much more that brings certain unnecessary noise and excessive bustle into the lives of growing children. Although a moderate level of background of all kinds of sounds will not cause significant harm to the child's emotional health.
And how does a child begin to come into contact with the world of artificial irritants? Mom feeds the baby and at the same time watches and listens to something on her phone or communicates with someone. The child feels the physical presence of mom, but loses her emotionally. And all artificial sounds carry certain information that child perception is not able to process, and unnecessary burden is created for the nervous system and the child feels discomfort. Their mind well senses the home atmosphere, how peaceful or toxic it is, and friendly conversational speech and quiet music calm them.
A child adapts to any conditions of the environment into which they are born, but not every environment has a beneficial influence on the development of healthy psyche and receptivity of a growing person.
Many parents believe that the highest quality time spent with their children is visiting attractions, cinemas, children's and entertainment programs, circuses and other events, and do not think about what happens to their children's feelings? Besides this, little ones are enrolled in all kinds of clubs, circles, classes, lessons of everything under the sun, and parents are proud that their children have no free time for harmless children's games. And the child has nowhere to go and actively works with all their might trying to master all sciences, understand the meaning of everything, try everything and learn everything. As a result, the nervous system accumulates emotional fatigue, to someday resist such violence and loudly declare its malfunction.
In the natural environment of development, children's psyche alternates active phases: games, communication, learning and periods of rest. If this balance is disturbed, the child becomes hyperactive, nervous, finds it difficult to play quiet games, concentrate attention, show perseverance, and cannot tell parents about their problem, but simply begins to behave in a way that parents don't like, and they turn on cartoons or let them play computer games to somehow calm them down and give themselves rest from their presence.
The conditions for developing a child's organism and nervous system differ significantly from the already formed organism of an adult. Although parents also need silence and peace, their psyche is more stress-resistant to external factors than their growing child.
Natural silence and peace, away from artificial irritants, have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of a healthy organism. Internal resources and creative potential come into action and the child invents thousands of activities and games out of thin air. In a calm environment, they learn to analyze their actions and feelings, reflect on what they've lived through, think up something original, think and dream about something new and interesting. Their psyche develops harmoniously in a quiet and loving home atmosphere. They are capable of learning many good manners and developing comprehensively to the joy of parents.
Peace brings with it a sense of security, and emotionally available parents dispel all accidental fears and anxieties.
It is difficult for the enemy of the soul to find an approach to the heart of a child growing in silence and peace of a happy God-fearing atmosphere.
Reading the Bible in the family circle, joyful communication, friendly spirit, simplicity of home environment—all this teaches the child that there is something very valuable in this world that one needs to have in their home and keep in their heart.
Jesus invites all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him, to find that peace which every soul needs. These words were spoken at a time when there was no radio, television and internet, and people already needed peace. What can we say about our time and about our children who cannot protect themselves and choose something useful?
What do children want most after visiting festivities and pompous events? Silence and peace. Their organism has protective properties and can activate them even amid great noise—the child simply falls asleep in their parents' arms and no longer reacts to anything. If this doesn't happen, they may begin to act up and have tantrums so much that parents will have to take extreme measures or leave places of entertainment against their will.
If artificial noise and the presence of external irritants around the child are constant, then their psyche becomes overloaded, exhausted and cannot recover naturally. Then all kinds of surprises and illnesses occur that bewilder and sadden parents.
Create such conditions for your children that silence and peace are always available to them and surround them on all sides. Let peace not only be their dream, but also be available to them at all times.
To avoid extremes, it's worth noting that creating absolute silence is also not good. A child should learn about the world of sounds, distinguish them and react correctly to this environment.
Gadgets are not absolute evil, but a means of transmitting information, which wise parents can successfully control and use for the benefit of themselves and their children in early childhood.
Questions for Reflection
Please read Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 30:15; Mark 1:35; 6:31; Psalm 4:9; 45:11; 118:165; Ephesians 6:4; 1 Kings 19:11-12; Proverbs 17:1; Ecclesiastes 4:6; Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:7, in light of this lesson. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind? What did you understand from this lesson? Why are silence and peace important conditions for harmonious growth and development of children? What is the difference and advantages between natural and artificial developmental environment for children? Why can background noise be harmful, even if it doesn't seem loud? How can parents create conditions for silence and peace in their home? How does the deficit of silence and peace affect children's behavior? What biblical principles confirm the importance of peace? Why does Jesus invite people to come to Him to find peace? Does this invitation extend to children? How can noisy entertainment be replaced with useful activities? What should I do if I live and raise children in a place where there is a lot of noise, but I don't have the means to move? How can we teach a child to value silence and consciously find time for peace? Are you surrounded by silence?