
Wait what..!! Just 23 hours and 56minutes in a day… huh!! Yeah buddy, time flies.
From Twinkle-Twinkle to Hana Montana…and from Free Rein to new favorite Sugar Rush……. H2O – what!…..woah woah …. slow down girl.
Sometime it feels, we could just make them even more ready for the things they are yet to know and go through.
“I can’t practice for one and a half hours, thats a lot. Why do always I have to clean up the room and not my little sis. How many points for these chores… huh??”
And best of all “I already did my best!” – really! … really??
Kid stepping into double digits, and I am already a worried Dad. Its both fun and sometime scary to see a your little one start fitting into bigger shoes. Parenting sites, are all over about information on how to deal with kids and how to be super sensitive with their behavior, about granting promotion, plus continuous rewards.
So basically – are they saying – one size fits all! ……..mmmmmmm not sure!
My experienced so far, parent rewarding/points or earning TV time, is a double sided sword. It can work on a short term but can quickly become a habit/expectation. I think it is important for double digit kids to grow in their mental abilities too – to look into their future in whatever capacity they have. Look around, try to get loads of information, and have a plan A and plan B. Then, shoot for an aim which they think interests them and work hard to achieve that. Life will not always be a fairy-tale.
At first, all this seems like being too harsh on kids but practicing this, they’ll realize sooner whats realistic. I don’t mean to say quit dreaming. What I mean to say is start preparing to fulfill those dreams. They should definitely choose and pursue what they like. But the guiding light, cannot be just kudos and rewards, these will perish as soon as they move out into the world of practicality. They need to also prepare for uncertainties, criticism, failure and boredom. These 4 killers will keep attacking you throughout your life, so the early you practice, the stronger you get.
I recall back in my childhood, parents use to to put least amount of efforts to push their kids to enrich they career at that small age. Not saying, they did not spent time or loved them much. But it was never like, you need to become better at music, art, math and sports – at the same time. Much of that push just used to come from our beloved teachers at school, whom we “respectfully and skill-fully ditched”, and thats just school life. Still, we did happen to get better day by day. There was no quest. There was no desire for Kudos to do something worthy for ourselves, because we came from the grounds where we saw the competition right in-front of our eyes. Competition is good, as long it is healthy and helps you grow in the right direction. Also, it shows you where you stand and what is your preparation levels. Everyone only wins in Ms Lolly-Polly class and claps for you after singing hot-cross-buns my dear! It’s wild out there. Sharpen your nails “Daniel tiger”.
Speaking of a quest for kudos. Today, people need kudos for every single things. It’s just turning a trend. Right from a Photoshopped Facebook post, to worthless WhatsApp joke, or to running a half marathon for a corporate, as if you really wished to accumulate funds for some food pantry – I know I am going to get lot of blessings for calling this out :). Let’s be honest, how much time do you think about enjoying on our food in a restaurant, than to create an instagram picture perfect.
Forget it. I know it will be hard to accept than to call someone downbeat or cynical. I am sure if my daughter would read this. She’ll say – I am just so not Bostonian :) Spend a few minutes alone with your soul, shake a leg with your childhood. You will know what I am talking about.
Let’s go back to the point I was making, for kids at this age, if they don’t understand the loss, they will never understand the true power of wining. Wining is not about Big Bucks, Big House or Large Online Friends and million likes!, its actually about Big heart, Big smile and a handful of true friends, always.
So, are we really thirsty to go on a quest of kudos. Or should we rather be spending a little time with ourselves, thinking what was our win in the last decade? I think I spent some worthy time collecting my thoughts today.
Whats your story?