Published on: October 15, 2023

Children need a chance to develop their capability to to cope with the pressure and hardships gradually. As responsible adults, do we allow them to? In most cases, adults blanketed under their own matters have very little time for children to actually help them through their turmoil. Very often, we end up removing the threat of danger to keep our children safe, but along with it, we take away experiences needed for developing a healthy approach toward life itself.

Allowing Children to Dream Their Own Dreams

We expect children to meet our requirements and fulfill our dreams, but we forget that they have aspirations of their own. The result often leads to grim statistics like, “Student suicides: The silent epidemic claims 150 in 2017-18” (TOI: Mar 12, 2018). Should we hold ourselves responsible for such irrational behavior, or should we pass the blame on to peer pressure?

As adults, we often desire something bigger or better—a higher income, more fame, or power—and this non-acceptance of the present self propels us into the rat race. Unfortunately, we tend to drag our children into this as well.

Teaching Children to Look Within for Solutions

Teaching our children to focus solely on marks to gain admissions to desired institutes often serves only to satisfy our own egos. As Einstein aptly stated, “An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future.”

To help children truly stand the test of time, we must guide them to look within for solutions. This requires shifting focus from the external world to the inner self, accepting who we are instead of aspiring to be something else. When we practice self-awareness and acceptance, we teach children that failure cannot harm them, and pressure cannot destroy a precious life.

Seeing Every Obstacle as an Opportunity

Instead of removing obstacles from our children’s paths, we should help them see every challenge as an opportunity to grow. The 21st-century workplace doesn’t just require individuals to catalogue objects in the name of learning but demands critical thinkers who can communicate effectively and solve problems in a globalized world.

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