Parenting Articles
Let your kids be
Childhood is the most special and unforgettable moment of a person's life. It is often free from many tensions and botherations. A child can move in a direction he wants, wear what he wants, cry when he wants and laugh even if not required.
Now, this is just one aspect of life. Children are often unable to enjoy the freedom they have the right to. They are bound by the chains of security, emotions & education.
Childhood is a magical time. It is a time when a child gets lost in the world of fairy tales, believes in Santa Claus and Tooth fairy.
A child usually believes in everything that seems to appeal him & win his fancy. This may be the reason why most children fancy becoming an astronaut, Spiderman, David Beckham or a magician. Most children believe that a Cinderella & a Snow-White exist.
In earlier days, kids had a chance to lead lives on their terms. They could use their creativity to indulge in painting, making crafts & even adorning their dolls with their favorite fantasy dress.
Long summer & winter holidays never came with organized summer or winter camps where they had to attend classes for thing they never enjoyed. Instead they could just immerse themselves fully into the world of fantasy by reading comic books, playing hide & seek and roam free through the neighborhood with friends.
I remember my own childhood & love to get back to the summer holidays that were full of complete happiness. My father allowed me to read all those Enid Blyton stories and play around in the evening and have delectable cookies.
Times have changed and with it came a big transformation in a child's life. It has all become so organized and structured that children today spend most of their holidays completing their homework and leading a robot-style life.
The life of a child is no more filled with happiness, freedom & choices. Most children are signed up for Karate classes, guitar lessons, tennis practice, language courses or boring summer camps. The worst & the most intimidating part is that most kids are even enrolled for tuition classes to cover up their weak subjects.
There is no personal freedom available for children any longer. Most of them are chauffeured everywhere and the rest are not allowed to explore the areas around.
As a child, I can still visualize the sparkle in my eyes when I used
to explore new places & meet new friends when playing hide & seek.
I really feel sad about the children of today when I see them sitting
in front of an electronic device for hours like a slave. And then
we wonder why they haven't still mastered the art of crossing roads
or are not physically active as their grandparents.
Kids in earlier times had the opportunity to struggle even if it involved
plucking a mango from the tree or buying candies from a nearby store.
Today, children are pampered as everything is laid out to them on
a platter, from candies to fruit, books to games.
Kids belonging to current generation are unable to smile just because they are happy or have the urge to; instead they depend on external stimulants such as television or electronic games. This, in turn retard their imagination or creative power.
They may have the most advanced toy to play with, the most informative television program, but they are devoid of the real magic of childhood.
Children have also become a source to exhibit one's status symbol these days. A child who has crammed maximum number of rhymes and can sing well is the one who bring laurels to his parents.
This is quite a pity because children are innocent creatures and should be allowed to run free & not hemmed in with our adult notions that can intimidate them and even rob them off from their innocence.
It is very important to treat a child in a way so that he adopts skills that are necessary for current life-style. They must also be taught skills so that they can easily emulate in this world of tough competition.
This can also be done by keeping their childhood magic alive, letting them play in the ground, allowing them to act like a Spiderman and reading comic books.
