Pressuring children – The Hindu

I keep reading a lot about parenthood nowadays, and some wise people advise parents to involve children in many extracurricular activities, much to the pleasure or chagrin of their wards.

Years ago, possibly even a decade, one of my former students visited me all of a sudden. I wondered what made him visit me, and he replied that he had put his young son, maybe 10 or 12, in a training class for tennis at the nearby playground under an expert.

I was not surprised because, unlike my time, today, parents take equal care to improve the extracurricular activities of their children. Even in the cramped area of my flat, one resident tries to teach his five-year-old grandson to play cricket in the small and narrow verandah, which, in my opinion, is quite dangerous as the staircases are close by.

Let me come back to the earlier story. My student said that after the tennis lessons, he had to take him to some other person in my area again for lessons in guitar. I said, “OMG?” He smiled and said, “I don’t know what you will tell if I say that he goes for chess practice twice or thrice a week for an hour.” I was baffled. “Then?” I asked. He laughed and said, “After tennis, he will have to go for maths tuition.”

I became speechless.

I could not fathom the ambitions of my old student as a father of a 10-year-old son.

It is not an isolated case. I heard later that many parents wanted their wards to be trained in dance, music, sports, acting, academics and what not. I am not sure whether they take them to some class where the boy or girl will be taught to read books or take a course in literature.

With no one’s guidance, I started reading, drawing and cultivated an ear for music in my school days. These turned out to be my favourite hobbies even during my service, and now after retirement, and in the evening of my life too.

True. A parent needs to create interest in their children to encourage them to participate in extracurricular activities. But not to this extent. I am afraid I may likely incur the wrath of several ambitious parents after reading this.

My humble opinion to them is that if there is a spark of interest in a boy or girl, it can only then be protected and promoted. One cannot thrust anything compulsorily down the throat.

Probably, my student must be introducing those areas to his son like a-la-carte, so that he can choose which one he likes to take as his passion, or maybe even profession.

If that is so, I feel it is a good idea.

gswaminathan19@gmail.com