The Importance of Positive Influence on Children's Development : หน้า 68/207

attend; we just need them to be in a good and positive environment. Being the number one student in class does not mean that student will become the richest person in the world. Knowledge from textbooks needs to be applied. Find good friends with whom the children can associate Some parents send their children, when they are still fairly young, overseas to get their Bachelors, Masters or Doctoral degree. Once they return to Thailand they no longer have faith in Buddhism. Instead, they acquire false views from friends they went to school with. And when they work in a Thai environment, they speak without respect to people at work, causing resentment. They do not realize that knowledge from textbooks alone is not enough to ensure success. One must learn to respect and be courteous towards others. The Mangala Sutta (the Thirty-Eight Blessings of Life which teaches us about the road to happiness in life) clearly states that you should not associate with fools. You should only associate with the wise. It is obvious that if our children associate with bad people, they too may be influenced to do bad things. This misguided behavior will become more apparent when children no longer live with us. We must be able to recognize the signs and give sound advice. Reprimands should not be the first and only reaction. Raising children requires us to have tactics and strategy similar to that in business. We are trying to build their capacity to choose and associate with good people. To prevent children from adopting bad behavior you must establish an environment founded on these four factors. In doing so, they will grow up to be adults who think, speak and act virtuously, leading lives with an ingrained sense of right and wrong.