Modern Day parenting challenges

Being parent for the first time or every single time is one of the best experiences of human life. The first glimpse of the new-born though momentary, will be carved in the memories of parents till they last. Being parent is the phenomena that is celebrated across the globe, all through the time. That is because we are not just pro-creating for the continuum of our existence but also voluntarily assuming the responsibility of building a healthy society around us.

The societal structure is ever changing, for the best and the worst at the same time. Amid of the changing society and the lifestyle, now the parenting is a bigger challenge than it ever has been. Especially in the country like Bharath, where we the children of 90s hardly had any day where we did not get attention by either a parent or their kith and kins. But now, because of the nature of profession we are into and hustle of modern lifestyle, we often tend to give less importance towards the most obvious societal duties of ours. Yes, being parent is not just a personal feeling but a societal responsibility as well. The kind of society we are living into is because of us not the other way. But as we are witnessing the happenings around us, today's society is driven by flashy materialistic lifestyle rather than a holistic one where we grew into. And it is influencing the children who are part of this very society.

We as students depended heavily on books to collect information and get the knowledge, it was a very narrow and restricted path for us. Now the times have changed, data of all sorts is widely available all over the internet. Google search will give many options for one keyword we enter! It’s the best time to be born for the enthusiastic learners. But how about children being able to access same information which an adult can access? At the stage of life where children are opening to the various experiences of the life, they are not able to decide the good and bad for themselves, the open information is a double-edged sword in the hand of a monkey. Its parents’ responsibility to be vigil about the data that is being consumed by their children. The content that is getting fed to children's mind has the potential in shaping their thought process and in the long run, their life.

Another important aspect of parenting is inculcating discipline in our children. Right from getting up and making their beds to completing their school related work must be a regular practice every day. As a parent, are we able to achieve it? The answer is "Not sure". For many of the parents loving our children means pampering overly. We forget that it’s us who must enable our children to face all the challenges they may encounter in their adulthood. And that preparation starts from as small thing as teaching them to make their own bed. To start with it need not be the tidiest job they do. But we must make sure that they get their hands on it every single day. Good habits and discipline are not built in a single day. It’s a lifelong process and the earlier we start better for our children.

Finally, the challenges are many for the parents. The burden of "managing all" is increasing as the families are becoming nuclear. Despite all the laborious life we are going through, we can still dedicate 30 minutes a day to just observe how our children are growing. Occasionally, we need to contemplate about the path which we are walking on. Remember, it’s not just us who are strolling but we are taking our children along. Let’s lead them on a better path by walking on it.

Image credits :Google images