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People say that parenting is tough. Yes, it is! However, these are five gifts that will help your child to become a better citizen for a better future.
Parenting is the toughest job in the world – if we consider it a job in the first place. High investment without expecting any returns. An emotional turmoil that comes along with constant anxiety and fear of the unknown.
From day one we are on a run to give our kids the best possible things, be it the perfect nursery for an infant or top quality education while they are growing up. On this run are we really ruining the essence of parenting? Are we really gifting our kids the best they deserve, or what we feel is good for them to stay on top of their future plans which are unpredictable?
Stop worrying too much and gift your child these 5 essential things that would make them a better version of the person they will turn out to be.
Gone are the days when people used to be secure in their own skin. Now everything depends on what others feel and think. Our beauty is scaled by the number of likes on our social media pics and success is measured on the basis of Instagram followers.
A child who faces bullying throughout his or her school life possibly grows up to be a self hating adult with a broken heart and a closed mind. Hence, it is important for a parent to help children love themselves.
The process should be ongoing and without spiking up any insecurity. Self love is one of the important things as it open the doors to love others as well. As the saying goes, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.”
One of the biggest mistakes we parents often make is to push the child into unnecessary peer pressure. We try to give them the best possible school even if it is going to eat into half of our earnings. But we conveniently forget to help them understand the difference between education and knowledge!
I know people with post graduate degrees, who have very little knowledge on what is going on around them. Inculcate the reading habit in kids at a very early age. Thus they make it a habit rather than consider it chore. Teach them to observe, explore and experiment. Let them wander out of their school syllabus too.
When I was a kid, most of my schooling was in North India. My classmates often bullied me for being a South Indian girl. They called me all sort of names like ‘khatta pani’ and ‘Sambhar rasam’. They also mocked my language and called it noodles.
Though I laugh at it now, the 13 year old me suffered a lot. So, what we think of as an “act of innocence” can turn out to be an irreversible habit, causing others to suffer.
When we find our kids mocking at others’ language, gender, religion or skin colour it is our duty to interfere right away. Teach the child to respect human beings regardless of anything that makes them what they are!
Money is important, it’s a need and necessity to survive and thrive. At e very early age kids must be taught the value of saving every penny. Gift them a piggy bank and trust them with some pocket money every month. This can be started from the age of five. Ask them not to spend it until emergency arrives.
Also tell them the difference between necessity and extravagance. To make them understand, never fulfil their unnecessary demands and don’t be a spendthrift in front of them. Practice what you preach!
If you wonder how to make a kid understand the importance of environmental issues, it’s quite possible. You don’t have to describe everything about the ozone layer depletion and deforestation to them. Just start from elementary facts.
Ask then to plant a sapling and water it regularly. Teach them to keep their surroundings clean by not throwing wrappers and plastics around. Ask them not to use the shower as part of saving water. Tell them to be kind towards animals as they too belongs to our environment.
This learning process is not about a day or a month, it’s a continuous process that needs to be done without losing the zeal. And parenting is all about that zeal to stay patient throughout the process.
People say that parenting is tough. Yes, it is! However don’t make it harder for yourself and the child by succumbing to unnecessary pressures. The motto shouldn’t be just about a better future for your child, it should be ‘A better citizen for a better future!’
Image via Canva
Sheeba Vinay is a writer, Compiler by profession. She is criminologist and a writing therapist. Her write-ups have been published in Lokmat Times, TOI and various platforms like Women's Web, Momspresso, Storymirror, India read more...
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