I have seen anxious
parents approaching me to share their worries about their child’s performance.
We have mentioned it, time and again, that they shouldn’t be unduly anxious
over the ‘performance’, they should be observing the ‘growth curve’. If parents
get nervous about the child’s ‘performance’ then it will surely
reflect in their behaviour with the child and it is definitely going to have a
negative result.
Now the festive season
is on and soon there will be Diwali vacations, too. I am sure many families
have their travel plans in place and those who’ve decided to stay back, they
will also be socializing over these festivities. During these occasions people
tend to either boast about their children or belittle them. Both extremes are
avoidable. Let the child enjoy social interaction in natural way. Let them
discover new friends and acquaintances. Let them observe and discover in their
own way. Never do comparisons. How somebody else’s child is ‘performing’ should
not be your concern and definitely not to compare that with your own child’s
‘performance’.
Let us assume your
frustration or worry is justified. In such a case what do you want to happen
further? Surely you want your child to ‘perform’ better next time. But if you
resort to scolding/ punishing/ reminding faults/ criticizing/ pressurizing
etc., you are doing just the opposite.
You are inflicting—TENSION on the child. That’ll surely push your child
to do even worse.
So,
what should be done instead?
Just
remember every child is unique. So observe the positive qualities of your child
and support him/her to cultivate them. Every child deserves to have a
tension-free childhood.
You
can play a key role in achieving it! In fact, we all owe it.
