You've got to be KIDDING!

"When He can do it, why cant you?!"
– was the initial reaction of my friend's father when he came to know that his son only managed a mere 75 while his neighbor's son secured a 100. An average parent reading this would say, "Now what's wrong in that reaction?" well, that's precisely why I term them "average". No offence people. What if the kid questions back – "Dad, my friend's father just bought him a brand new BMW…when he can do it, why cant you?!" Poor kid would probably be spending the rest of the day crying in his room with a wounded cheek. We are all humans, and the basic laws of life apply to everyone. If it is OK for parents to compare their kid with another kid, then I guess kids can do the same too with their parents. Don't you think so? Just because the kid doesn't slap you back when you slap him/her, doesn't mean that he/she doesn't have any feelings.


Some people claim that God has blessed everyone with "equal amounts" of Brains. Well, Firstly, God isn't that jobless to weigh and make sure that every human is designed with equal amounts of brains. Secondly, Osama Bin Laden hasn't been captured yet. Thirdly, there was only one Albert Einstein. So, that unfortunately proves that God hasn't blessed us all with equal amounts of brains. Agreed? Fortunately though, god has blessed us all in his own ways. If Sachin Tendulkar wasn't blessed, then India wouldn't have a legendry cricketer today. If A.R.Rahman wasn't blessed, India wouldn't have a musical maestro today. If Mahatma Gandhi wasn't blessed, India wouldn't be an Independent country today.


Well, we are all blessed in one way or the other. Someone who doesn't do well in studies is not a failure in life by any stretch of imagination. We are all talented in our own ways. Forcing kids to do something they aren't interested in is an insult to the talent that they possess. No Kidding! Well, yes, education does play a vital role in ones life. But parents have to understand that there can be only ONE First rank holder in a class. Pushing kids beyond their capacity isn't going to do anyone any good. For all the parents reading this, your kid might very well be a "Sachin Tendulkar" or a "A.R.Rahman" in the making. It's just a question of identifying talents and nourishing them (Remember, Sachin Tendulkar wasn't born with a bat). Support and encouragement is all the kid expects from a parent. I'm not asking all you parents out there to dance to your kid's tunes. All I ask of you is to please be fair and treat your kids the way you would have liked to be treated when you were kids. Don't strive for respect. Earn it. Remember - What goes around, comes around. Well, I'm sure many parents out there would be cursing this article right now. I don't really blame them though. After all, God hasn't blessed us all with equal amounts of brains.