As we all know children love sweets, even as adults, the euphoric sensation of eating chocolate or cake does not change. But also, as we get older, we realize the damage that eating too many sweets can cause. This reminds me of a story a long time ago that was told to me about a mother and her daughter. The daughter loved and consumed too many sweets, regardless of its harm to her own body. As all mothers, the mother was very concerned about her daughter and approached Gandhi Ji to seek his educated and experienced advice to save her daughter from the clutches of candy. Gandhi Ji, upon hearing the mother’s plight advised her to come meet him again after 3 days. The mother followed this very advice and visited Gandhi Ji again after 3 days.
Gandhi Ji now told the daughter to not consume and stop eating sweets. The mother upon hearing this advice to her daughter got agitated and told Gandhi Ji that ‘if this is your only advice to my daughter then you could have done so 3 days earlier during our initial visit, as today’s interaction would not be needed in hindsight and would also not be a waste of time to us all. Then Gandhi ji replied “Even I was consuming sweets prior to our initial meeting, it’s been 3 days since I have stopped consuming sweets”
The moral of the story:
When anyone tries to advise and guide their children or others, they first must be on the right path themselves. Children are very impressionable and can be led by example. It is important we teach our children about moderation and set good standards.