Page 6 - ParentsWorld June 2020

nurturing 21st Century Children

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of diarrhoea every day and 1,400 of schools and parents focus on only one
tuberculosis. Why has there not been intelligence i.e, academic. They pay
any public outrage over these killer scant attention to developing a child’s
diseases that are omnipresent in 21st multiple intelligences. Over-emphasis
century India? on academic success has blighted
After we are done with the many children’s lives. I urge all
Covid-19 epidemic, we need to take parents to encourage their children to
stock of our healthcare system and develop their other intelligences and
work to create safe and clean envi- talents, be it music, art, dance, sports,
ronments where all, especially child etc.
citizens, can lead healthy lives. I also want to make an appeal to
Rishabh Sharma schools and teachers to encourage a
New Delhi thousand different flowers to bloom
in their classrooms. The world doesn’t
under-reported women’s only need scientists and programmers
stress but also poets, artists and musicians.
Kamala Chandra
Congratulations for highlighting Chennai
the under-reported but ubiquitous
encourage leisure reading phenomenon of parenting stress (PW great expectations folly
March). Over the past decade with
I look forward to reading the ‘Fun the growth of two-income nuclear Thank you for publishing an
with Words’ column by Roopa Ba- households, parenting stress has excellent parenting magazine. I
nerjee every month. It’s an enjoyable reached dangerous levels. And the believe most parent-child conflicts
way for children to learn about the major brunt of parenting anxiety is arise because of a gap between the
nuances of the English language. borne by women who bear almost the expectations of parents and children.
As a retired English teacher I am entire load of child care duties. They Parents want children to excel in all
appalled by the poor English gram- are expected to care for their chil- they do and to this end they try their
mar and limited vocabulary of the dren’s every need and also work a full best to provide enabling facilities
new generation, for which I blame day in offices. India’s rigidly patriar- and opportunities. But all children
their addiction to social media, chal society frowns upon men helping are not alike in their intelligence and
whatsapp and other digital platforms. women with household chores. physical abilities. However parents
Schools and parents should make it Therefore I am not surprised insist on all-round excellence from
compulsory for children to read at to read in your story that a grow- children and unfairly compare
least one high-quality literary work ing number of women are suffering them with others and when their
every month. parental burnout and exhaustion and expectations are unfulfilled they vent
Vinod Cherian need counselling and medical care. their frustration upon children.
Chennai It’s time for the men to step up and I believe it’s the duty of parents
share the responsibility of raising not to expect too much from their
Shocking health record children. wards. Let them grow and study
Rashmi Abraham as per their own abilities. The role
Though the full extent of the damage Bangalore of parents is to guide and enable
done by the still rampaging Covid-19 children, not force and pressurise
pandemic is yet to be ascertained, I Multiple intelligences them. Please love, accept and support
was shocked to read that there are neglect your children without burdening
several other deadly diseases which them with the weight of unrealistic
are extracting a heavy toll in India Thank you for a very educative expectations.
every day. For instance I was outraged feature on developing children’s Capt. S.N. Panwar
to read that 2,000 people in India die spatial intelligence (PW March). Most Jodhpur

parentsworld • june 2020 6