What makes parents put their children through an experience such as PPW is beyond my comprehension. Is it money? Is it fame? I think it is just another example of the Indian 'Chalta hai' attitude.
Too often, I have come across people who don't say it in words, but still express eloquently how they think we are paranoid and OC parents. The two most frequent quotes I have heard are, " Hamare zamaane mein to itna nahi karte the.....phir bhi hum theek thaak hi nikal aaye hain!" or "Kuch nahi hota.....bachche apne aap barhe ho jaate hain".
I think people who have volunteered their babies for the show are well-meaning, loving parents. They don't really think they are doing anything untoward to the baby by putting her through the ordeal that is PPW. They would have been taken in by the assurances of the channel, the availability of doctors & nurses, the free flow of coke and pizza and the air conditioning. What can go wrong? 'Hum wahin pe the.....barhe achhe se khayal rakha ji unho ne bachchon ka' - they would say. 'Ek din mein kya ho jana hai......different experience ho gaya!' - would be the other response.
I don't really think the question is whether the experience (or nightmare) of spending 24 hours with strangers is detrimental to the child or not. The question is how far can parents take their natural right to decide what is right or wrong for the child till he is old enough to decide for himself. Where does one draw the line between eager and irresponsible parenting? Shouldn't we see the child's protests and cries as adequate evidence of his disagreement and accord it the respect it deserves? Or should parents conclude that they know what is best for their child and go with what suits their fancy?
PPW sickens me but this whole tamasha raises important questions on what is Good Parenting. The least we can do is NOT watch the show - else this TRP race will have cripples flying down ramps to see who falls the farthest!
2 comments:
Totally agree on this one.
The prevalent mind set in India is "parent knows best" - this shows up right from the time a child is born..right upto the time the child gets married.
One instance I like to quote often is that parents usually think they have a better assessment of a tddler's hunger levels - as opposed to the toddler herslf..so the norm in India is to force-feed kids even against their continuous protestations resulting in adults who have lost the ability to naturally assess their body's requirements leading to widespread obesity (Please note that humans are the only species where there is the concept of obesity)
Continue this attitude right upto adulthood and you have parents forcing career choices on their children and ofcourse - arranged marriage (in its traditional form)as well.
Totally agree on this one.
The prevalent mind set in India is "parent knows best" - this shows up right from the time a child is born..right upto the time the child gets married.
One instance I like to quote often is that parents usually think they have a better assessment of a tddler's hunger levels - as opposed to the toddler herslf..so the norm in India is to force-feed kids even against their continuous protestations resulting in adults who have lost the ability to naturally assess their body's requirements leading to widespread obesity (Please note that humans are the only species where there is the concept of obesity)
Continue this attitude right upto adulthood and you have parents forcing career choices on their children and ofcourse - arranged marriage (in its traditional form)as well.
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