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Online schools & pandemic have created these 'mini-adults'. I feel ill-equipped to deal with the fact that kids have email accounts & also hack passwords!
The coronavirus pandemic has taken our world by storm. Online schools and lockdowns have come and gone, but for me, the lockdown continues… We must keep ourselves locked in with our kids who are still confined mostly within the walls of the home or any space that “we” inhabit. As a mother of two, I am still scared of the virus. I cannot send my kids anywhere unattended and without a chaperone. It is the second academic year wherein the kids attend school from home and God bless me that I haven’t murdered one of them yet!!
I feel that online schools have turned kids into ‘mini-adults’ & brats! I know that this phase too will pass and schools are reopening. I am just unhappy as my young kids have lost their childhood and innocence in these 2 years.
My sense of being and perception has altered. I can hardly identify with this current scenario. Childhood memories of the school to me are those of a sense of belonging. I loved my school premises, our uniform, badge, and my school culture. I still remember the way my favourite teacher Mrs. Baijal smiled and ruffled our heads.
Today, all of that is lost. My kid could be in any school- it does not matter too much in an online platform. The teacher appears on Zoom and is a mere face and a voice. Albeit, a pleasant one with an incredibly polite voice. Every child’s comment/answer is met with a “Super” or an “Awesome”, response by the teacher. If they are so awesome, do they need to learn??? No one is rude or admonishing to our children anymore. The teachers are on their best behaviour as parents can hear every word. As a result, we have a new breed of ‘brats’.
These brats loudly interrupt the ongoing class and say “Ma’am, it’s time up!” They chat online – writing notes to each other, while the class is on. Even better, after attendance the video is conveniently switched off and the child is off to do ‘the big job”. “It’s okay, Ma, chill. I’ll just watch the class video recording!” They tell me as I look aghast!
Google provides answers and lifesaving advice on everything – while parents and teachers are merely around as providers of food, clothes, and certificates, I guess.
I know that this phase too will pass and schools are reopening. I am just unhappy as my young kids have lost their childhood and innocence in these 2 years. They are always around us- their parents and have thus, infiltrated our world. There is no demarcation between the Adult’s and a Child’s world anymore. When the parents are busy, they know how they work, what goes on in their minds and can read them.
I find myself ill-equipped to deal with these “mini-adults”. They have email accounts, computer proficiency, can download programs, and also hack passwords!! They have developed a lack of respect for authority and demand an explanation for every instruction. “Why must I brush my teeth every night?”
If I had asked my mom this a tight rap would have just been the answer. Not anymore. Of course, they get raps, but that too must be justified. “Why did u slap me?” Phew!
The value system that we grew up with- Honesty, Hard work and Perfection don’t hold anymore. Information is available at the tip of our fingers. Just swipe you have it. Hard work is overrated. The bare minimum of effort seems to be enough.
What are the skill sets that I must provide my kids to equip them for the future? They are not focused. The options they have are innumerable. A strange fear overcomes me as I think about it. The world that this generation is going to step into is unknown.
Young kids are successful entrepreneurs today. They have stock portfolios and are coding experts. What would these kids aspire to grow up to be? Will they completely fizzle off by the time they reach 35?
With super- achievers and billionaires all around, only the mentally strong will survive. Guess I shall love my kids unconditionally, hoping that they will be strong at heart and mind as they step into this unknown world. Confidence and self-worth need to be the basis of this generation!
Image source: Still from Lenovo ad
Hi! I'm Meeta Chablanii- an animator, illustrator a freelance fashion designer and a full time mom to two little brats. My journey of bringing them up forms the backdrop of most of my posts. read more...
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