‘Daddy! Mommy! Please take me home!’ ~ Parenting

Yesterday, while I was reading the Eye magazine (a weekly subscription that comes with a variety of news concerning political, social and educational grounds) an article caught my eye! It read ‘Daddy, take me home…..’ As I read, I felt sad at heart. The article focused on a never ending yet a sad saga of the kids coming from affluent families, who are enrolled in the top notch boarding schools that have the best teachers, the best academic curriculum and the best extra curricular activities, to offer. But amidst all this, these kids are either loners or under performers. The important point that was highlighted by the magazine was the neglect these kids face at home. Parents are either well employed, enough to give their work life more priority or both parents are unable to give up on their high flying social life, which seemed easier before kids entered the family circle! One case was about a 12 year old girl who had to cancel her vacation trip to home, just because her parents were flying abroad for some social function. And there was this other case, where a 14 year old student had almost stoned herself with a Bacardi, in one of the classes, succumbing to self induced remorse and absolute neglect from home. In certain students, the power of money and the lack of parental attention enter their head as a lethal combination of arrogance and fear. This leads them to question their own ethics and moral. Some teachers, as mentioned in the article, though have the best interests for them, fail to inculcate the value system in the students because of their badly torn down attitude!

And what I fail to understand is, if parents do not have time for their children, why bear them in the first place? There are many working parents who manage work life and home effectively, even to the extent of tutoring their children. Unfortunately, the other breed of parents also exists in our society for whom social pleasures precede all priorities in life. It was so disheartening to read the plight of these kids, who although born rich with a golden spoon are made to feel like orphans. The pain of having such parents is far worse than the pain of being an orphan and this magazine just highlighted the point with these disturbing instances! It is high time people take out some time for a retrospection. Parenting is imperative and no currency in the world can buy you that skill! Period.