Parents do understand!
WITH the mandate for the majority of children to remain at home for their studies, fatigue and exasperation have set in. Parents need to be on the look out for opportunities to speak with young people who feel that they can’t take another day of school. These arise quite often. The truth is the pressures placed on children to perform exceptionally well whether by their parents or peers are very real. The competitiveness begins early — securing a place in a top performing school, making it to the top three in the class, passing all the subjects sat with the best grades…
All of this can come tumbling down if not handled carefully. Throwing in the towel is not an option as they have their whole lives ahead of them, and they are barely out of the blocks on the road called ‘life’. How can this be happening to your child? You have been telling them to turn off the devices and go read a book, sent them to every extra lesson that they needed, and sorted out their life by finding extra hours in their day for study by cutting out extra-curricular activities. Perhaps you’ve been the pressure cooker.
Maybe a change in approach will yield better results. Put yourself in their shoes. Just think you walked the very same path they are now trodding. Homework assignments that seemed impossible, having to study when you didn’t feel like it, bad report card — we’ve seen and heard it all.
By sharing your personal story with them, the obstacles, pitfalls and triumphs, just maybe you will seem more human. Making your children aware that you are a sounding board can help them cope. Outline to them that children are expected to do better than their parents ever did. Let them know that you are prepared to be their cheerleader for every shining achievement — no matter how large or small. Exercise patience. Do not compare their skills and talents with other children.
The next time you hear the cry ,“You’d never understand!”, respond, “Try me”.
