It is an era of needs and possibilities. Needs which are no longer for mere survival but more of a status. A need for an I phone for example, is what a need is today. A child today with great pride shows his Iphone to his peers but would not even like to disclose the existence of a phone with him if it is not a high end one.
That being said, what I today witness around me is- Parents seem to have learnt a new way of expressing their care and affection! It is by pampering their kids with the latest gadgets,latest watches and the list goes on. And the process is like the theory of Newton's cradle where, when one does the rest automatically have to do it. It has become a norm. A mother meets her friend and tells her what she picked for her child and the friend immediately picks up the same or something better. Setting benchmarks for the monetary value of the gift is what is noticed in the entire mankind hamlet!
In the interactions that i have had with few latecomers to the coaching class who are not deliberate late comers but legitimate latecomers, what i learnt was most of the children are either dropped by the parents or grandparents or a parent from a common locality takes turns in dropping and picking up the children in their respective cars. And the distance wouldn't even be greater than a kilometer!
I asked them - " Where is your bicycle? Can't you just paddle down the road?" and believe me all the children had a common answer, that is - " My parents do not allow me to"
I understand the safety related concerns with the roads not being as safe as it used to be before, however i still feel a kilometer of cycling surely isn't going to either add or subtract to the associated risks. In turn, a child being taught how to independently carry out their duties as children will have long term positive repercussion on their abilities. Because of the above mentioned like pampers, children get habituated to such favors done and end up being highly dependent, whether on parents or any other equivalent counterparts such as a cab,or any other relative or acquaintances staying close by.
Many such examples i encounter each day. Some to do with drops to schools or tuition centers, some to do with travelling alone in a train or flight and some to do with even going to a local barber!
Dear parents, prepare your children with certain signs about how to judge a good guy and a bad guy with various generic circumstances you have come across in your lives.
Prepare them by inculcating the habit of reading newspapers to make them understand what is currently going on in their city/ state if not the nation or the world.
Pit them in artificial situations of bargain in a shop and instead of encouraging Eshopping, send your kids to a local store nearby and check if they got back with the right change and product.
Ask them to take a local bus in the city instead of a prepaid Uber cab.
Send your son/daughter for a blood donation they turn 18 and a voter ID card instead of buying them a luxury car.
Let your children score low marks once in while in their exams. So that they understand the value of good marks and also can differentiate between the efforts being put for a good and a bad score. Let some self introspection kick off early in their lives. Today's children are smart enough to know what led to the bad and what can lead to good.
Do not cushion or insulate your children from the failures you had in your lives but let them fail and fall. They may loose some marks in the exam but the life gains that they are going to achieve, i assure will surely be greater than the marks that the missed out on.
Do not pamper your children with money but with loads and loads of knowledge and circumstances that they can come across before they become adults. A well learnt and an aware child will surely be a greater asset to your family and finally for the society that we live in.
I shall finally leave this topic(for now) with what once Aristotle the great said:The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
That being said, what I today witness around me is- Parents seem to have learnt a new way of expressing their care and affection! It is by pampering their kids with the latest gadgets,latest watches and the list goes on. And the process is like the theory of Newton's cradle where, when one does the rest automatically have to do it. It has become a norm. A mother meets her friend and tells her what she picked for her child and the friend immediately picks up the same or something better. Setting benchmarks for the monetary value of the gift is what is noticed in the entire mankind hamlet!
In the interactions that i have had with few latecomers to the coaching class who are not deliberate late comers but legitimate latecomers, what i learnt was most of the children are either dropped by the parents or grandparents or a parent from a common locality takes turns in dropping and picking up the children in their respective cars. And the distance wouldn't even be greater than a kilometer!
I asked them - " Where is your bicycle? Can't you just paddle down the road?" and believe me all the children had a common answer, that is - " My parents do not allow me to"
I understand the safety related concerns with the roads not being as safe as it used to be before, however i still feel a kilometer of cycling surely isn't going to either add or subtract to the associated risks. In turn, a child being taught how to independently carry out their duties as children will have long term positive repercussion on their abilities. Because of the above mentioned like pampers, children get habituated to such favors done and end up being highly dependent, whether on parents or any other equivalent counterparts such as a cab,or any other relative or acquaintances staying close by.
Many such examples i encounter each day. Some to do with drops to schools or tuition centers, some to do with travelling alone in a train or flight and some to do with even going to a local barber!
Dear parents, prepare your children with certain signs about how to judge a good guy and a bad guy with various generic circumstances you have come across in your lives.
Prepare them by inculcating the habit of reading newspapers to make them understand what is currently going on in their city/ state if not the nation or the world.
Pit them in artificial situations of bargain in a shop and instead of encouraging Eshopping, send your kids to a local store nearby and check if they got back with the right change and product.
Ask them to take a local bus in the city instead of a prepaid Uber cab.
Send your son/daughter for a blood donation they turn 18 and a voter ID card instead of buying them a luxury car.
Let your children score low marks once in while in their exams. So that they understand the value of good marks and also can differentiate between the efforts being put for a good and a bad score. Let some self introspection kick off early in their lives. Today's children are smart enough to know what led to the bad and what can lead to good.
Do not cushion or insulate your children from the failures you had in your lives but let them fail and fall. They may loose some marks in the exam but the life gains that they are going to achieve, i assure will surely be greater than the marks that the missed out on.
Do not pamper your children with money but with loads and loads of knowledge and circumstances that they can come across before they become adults. A well learnt and an aware child will surely be a greater asset to your family and finally for the society that we live in.
I shall finally leave this topic(for now) with what once Aristotle the great said:The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
