Let every day be Children8217;s Day!

I am getting bored mummy. What should I do?'' Not a very unusual query from children... especially during holidays. Do what you want,'' ...

8220;I am getting bored mummy. What should I do?8221; Not a very unusual query from children8230; especially during holidays. 8220;Do what you want,8221; says mum. Democratic? No. It just means 8220;do what I want you to do but don8217;t expect my involvement.8221; Proof? One child switches on to cartoon network and8230;. 8220;How many times should I tell you not to keep watching cartoon network, you zombie!8221; The other goes and kneads a beautiful mud ball and8230;. 8220;look how you8217;ve dirtied your new frock!8221; The next calls up a friend and8230;. 8220;stop gossiping like an old woman, do something worthwhile.8221; So on and so forth. There is very little place for the child to manoeuvre through the umpteen fences we parents create, without knocking some down; and its all for their own good8217;. But children wonder.

It would be an easy issue to resolve, if at least, children know what they want. Their role models too seldom know what they want8230;. consequently, being unable to help their children make up their mind. A major reason being, we are all hooked on to applause, recognition, praise. It is a deadly addiction, for, apart from alienating a person from his own values and priorities, in favour of someone else8217;s, it also lands his happiness in another8217;s keeping. A victim of such addiction more often than not, sacrifices his own desires to do something entirely different just to earn recognition. And when it is not forthcoming, he feels cheated and depressed. Who8217;s to blame?

These children grow up to opt for careers that give status8217;, earn a lot of money and are generally lucrative8230; even if it means doing something they don8217;t enjoy. And it is excruciatingly painful to put one8217;s heart and soul into what one does not like to do much. So cutting corners, pushing blame, justifying failure, and lack of initiative reigns supreme. Gossip and politics flourishes. Who has authored this mediocracy? Who has axed achievement in the bud?

Yet, ironically, we are tremendously achievement-oriented. So, while we, as children spent hours in the hot summer sun playing gulli-danda8217; or lolled in the shade of a tree lapping up Journey to the centre of the earth8217; our children are allowed to play only seriously8217; under the watchful eye of coaches. They should read only, Science today8217; or browse knowledge enhancing8217; CDs and attend personality development8217; classes! They drink soup and fruit juice and eat nutritious stuff like sprouts, wheat flakes and porridge and never indulge in bhel8217;, icecream or chaat8217; 8211; not, at least under the parent8217;s watchful eyes! Every activity hints you8217;re not ok but we8217;ll sculpt you to an acceptable level. Is it any wonder that most kids today are too slow8217;, waste time8217; and pick at food?8217; Their performance in sports, academics, elocution8230; whatever, is being benchmarked constantly.

The truth is, we have forgotten the art of lazing, doing something just for fun8217; or better still doing nothing. We have killed the vagabond in them. Shackled their wonder years and are busy putting them through all that you as a kid said I won8217;t do that to my children 8216;. How about remembering the promise you made to that child in you, buried under the debris of approval seeking?