Are you helping your Child? Introspect before it's late.

I came across a survey statistics on how much time parents spend to get their kids homework completed. The findings were that Indian parents spend most amount of time in helping their kids with the homework completion. Germans spend the least amount of time for the same. This brings us to the larger question, WHAT IS RIGHT? Spending more time or less time or some would argue about hitting the right balance (though I know, they won’t have an answer to how to strike the fine balance).

I will try to share perspective from both the sides. From an angle where it sounds OK and the other, where it doesn’t sound OK to spend more time in helping kids with homework etc.

If we look at the commute time of parents to office (as most of the parents are working), it leaves an average Indian middle aged person with less than 3-4 hours per day to spend with the kids overall. You start at 8 AM to office and come back by 7 PM or so. Even if you go to bed by 11 PM, at the max you are left with just 4 hours to take care of house chores, kid’s needs, homework etc. If, you are working for 6 days a week, and able to spend 2 out of 4 hours for kid’s homework and project works etc., you reach the number of 12 hours a week with kids (as depicted in the survey).

So, the message I get is that the parents aren’t wasting any time but investing their time on their kids’ educational needs and making them ready for the competitive environment which is prevailing in every class, every school and every walk of life. This is the best parents can do by ensuring that their kids homework is up to date, they learn, revise what they did in school, coming day’s requirement at school is taken care of. Isn’t it true? Let’s take an example,

For a young kid, making scenery is like a problem statement. He comes to the parents and asks for help. In today’s digital age, what’s going to be the first reaction? Parent would search for a scenery on google images, ask kid to replicate the same (most of the cases, most of the parents in the same class would have chosen this path). The child would do what you asked him to and possibly win accolades in the school for doing a wonderful job. . After all it is a competitive world. At every step the child has to go through challenges and if you as a parent not do this other parents would do it and your child might seem to be behind the batch.

What will happen next time? Child will again come to you and you will again possibly spoon feed him. Are we really doing a favour to the kids or preparing them to take the problems which these young minds will have to tackle on a daily basis (small problems or big problems in relative terms)?

BUT, what did the parent just do? Didn’t you spoon fed your child? Did you prepare the child to imagine from what he has seen himself or the parent just killed the child’s imagination just to ensure, he does a good painting? QUESTION YOURSELF. DID YOU JUST MAKE YOUR KID DEPENDENT or a WAY FINDER?

For the same painting example, imagine if the parent told his child, sit on the terrace, look around and try to draw what you see. OR guide him with what all possibly the child can draw on the canvass and give him the liberty to improvise the painting? Wouldn’t this make child to actually use his creativity to the fullest. He might not win a prize for this today, but in real life, wouldn’t he be ready to take any problem through his creative mindset?

Are you helping your child to tackle the problem of just escape the problem?

Think about it. If this thought compels you, share it with fellow parents and teachers as well…

Do like & follow us on facebook to stay connected. www.facebook.com/yourmindcoach.net/