Too young too many expectations

Mrs Sharma had just recovered from giving birth to a son, Rohit, when a Mumbai friend called to find out what sort of classes she had enrolled him up for. "Not yet," she said, followed by a disapproving silence. "Oh! Isn’t he already 3 years old?" friend questioned. "I mean to say, he should join music or a painting classes already, shouldn’t he? I mean," she paused cautiously, "you don't want him to be disadvantaged, eh?"

This was the day hyper-parenting came knocking at Mrs Sharma’s door.

Let’s admit it, all of us want our kids to be born with CEO brains or superstar ability. However, in this constant pursuit for perfection, we tend to somehow forget that there is a thin line between guiding our kids and compelling them.

Touching extreme levels of aspiration, pushing our own disgruntled dreams upon our child, needs to be constantly monitored.

Parents, tune in

Accept

Being aware of what one is, goes a long way in accepting one’s child, admits Sri Ganga Ram Hospital’s clinical psychologist Dr Aarti Anand. Show that you love them. The key is to embrace your child with his or her negativities.

When there’s a wall of opposition

Threatening kids to withhold a privilege is not the best approach while dealing with kids.

What one must understand is how to figure out different kinds of resistance and how extreme they are. “Get in touch with the fact that it’s just a fad and will pass away with time,” says Vanita Mutneja, a Delhi based counselor.

Boosting self-confidence

Having heartfelt belief in your child and his sense of morality goes a long way in bringing up their self-esteem.  “Help your child differentiate between right and wrong and this will take their self-confidence to new levels,” explain Dr Anand.

Don’t be a time tyrant

Oh! The poor kids are so burdened with rocket-science mammoth tasks. Right from finishing their breakfast to completing tuition homework, they all have closely programmed timetables. Parents should not take away the charm of being a kid from their little ones, adds Mutneja. We can’t do this whilst posting boundaries on every step they take.

Franklin P. Jones once said, “You can learn many things from children- how much patience you have, for instance.” So, just remember to show patience and they shall grow up just fine.

Image source: onlymyhealth