A few months ago I saw on the news where a ten year old boy
in Africa who was working manual labor jobs to raise his five year old sister
and three year old brother. He sacrificed his daily meals to feed them some
days. Their parent both were dead and so the responsibility to take care of the
family fell on the eldest person who survived in the family.
My kid showed interest in putting away the laundry when he
was fourteen month old. He showed interest in cooking when he was eighteen
months old. He learnt to read all by watching PBSKids.com – Word World. I felt
he was way mature than I give him credit. I talked to my kid about sex, same sex and
death when he was hardly five years old.
As far as my memories go as a child I was curious about
sexes, marriages and babies, God, life, etc. I did not have anybody explain to
me about anything. So, I wanted to be the one to explain things about the human
life instead of a creepy neighbor.
Most parents who I think are pragmatic don’t see anything
wrong in what I did to him at a young age. But seldom, I come across parents
who believe that my son’s innocence is gone and I am a terrible mother for
explaining so much to a child.
An under privileged kid can be so responsible for his
siblings. Why should our over privileged kids supposed to be sealed from not
just responsibility and reality but also from the normal things of the world in
the name of childhood? What are we really protecting them from? Why are we boring them with activities and not talking about life? Why are we shielding them from a danger that does not really exist?
Doing chores is good, and all, but common they are boring to us and to the kids too.
Earning trophies for showing up feels awesome to the kids self esteem, but it really is not.
Home work and tuition and extra math are very educational, but they are not really teaching the kids to learn.
Talking to them instead of brain washing them is an awesome way to learn about them.
Talking about any taboo subject to the kids will open up our minds.
Kids React to Gay Marriage
The thing is kids are pretty amazing. They have a sense of morality even before they are exposed to any religion or moral code they are supposed to, especially when they are asked to think and decide for themselves. They are very forgiving. They are very caring. They want to be forgiving and caring and responsible. But they seldom get the chance to show greatness that is not staged.
Hello Sreedevi,
ReplyDeleteNice article and modern thinking too.
A FOREST houses all kinds of trees; similarly, the LIFE holds for us all kinds of experiences. We, the elders think that we have to teach our children everything to grow them properly. Indeed, it is not correct. We sow the seed in the ground, water it, care it. But is it correct to think that we have made the seed and we made the seed to grow up? -- No. Every thing exists in the seed and we were only a tool in its growing. Similarly, a child, before born into this world, is embedded with the correct GENE ( of course, it is from the parents!! ) and we, the parents are instrumental in bringing up them. We must realise that we must provide the right environment for them to grow. What is required for the child is that we must put the things/issues/subjects in a sequential order. We must not think over and above the child's capacity to receive the knowledge; it is like over-watering the plant. Is it correct for us to think that our child, when he is 18 years old, is loving a girl because we taught him about genders, sex, love, marriage, etc? No, it is because of the in-built human behaviour.
About the Gay Marriages, I feel and put my opinion in one sentence: any worldly beings, particularly human-beings can not go against the nature's laws.
Madhavarao Uncle