Yesterday was Mothers Day. No, I didn’t celebrate it. I used to earlier till my mom told me that she’d rather have my love and respect all 365 days of the year rather than on every second Sunday in May.
Anyway, I had spent the earlier day discussing with a friend the insecurities that must come with being parents these days. Earlier, the perils of bringing up a child were far and few in between. My grandmother, in fact, told me that she never even went to drop her children to their centers in their twelfth and graduation. But when I complained about how my mom still did it, she explained that she would have done the same thing had her kids been young today.
Why? Simply because the pressures of growing up are huge these days. Exams are the yardsticks of judging people and almost every child goes through a range of emotions during exams. Also, suicides on failing were unheard of then. So it’s better to be careful than sorry.
That got me thinking. Aren’t we too harsh on our parents? I mean the rules of parenting are evolving rapidly and our poor parents are forever racing to keep up. What don’t they have to deal with these days? Drugs, alcoholism, smoking, sex are just a small drop in the sea of worries. These they can deal with having grown up themselves facing such peer pressures.
But what about the internet stalking, chatting, online pedophiles? Or for that matter rave parties or just plain driving at 120 mph with friends? They are the ones who want us to succeed in life but they are unsure of how much to push us to get there. Suicides, depressions, addictions, heartbreaks, relationships, and multiple career choices…the list is endless. How do they keep up? Do they act like parents and discipline or do they become our friends and just listen? Is there a right answer?
I really don’t know how they manage it. They are on unchartered territories and maybe, just maybe are as scared as we are that they may end up screwing our lives with one wrong decision. I don’t know what’s the solution but if I grow up just about normal, my parents sure deserve a lot of credit for it. So hats off to parents around the world for doing such a difficult job…making us the people we are.
