Every Parents' Dilemma: Am I Raising My Child Right?

In a society where all it takes is one wrong influence to set a child on the wrong path, "Am I raising my child, right?" is a question which most parents ask themselves. All we want is to keep our children on the right track in this big bad world.

But does it even bear any results, if the world they are being brought up is quite the opposite to the virtues we instil in them? Are we making our children weaker and less capable of surviving in this hostile world? In the current state of the world, a right upbringing of children seems like a bad move. But that shouldn’t deter us. Instead, we should also make an effort to change the world to make it a better place for the future generations.

Change the world too!

I teach my child that boys and girls can wear any colour they want and play with any toy which makes them happy. But the society in which we live hasn’t made this task easier. There are gendered clothes, toys and values all around her. She’s drawn dolls and pink clothes, despite my best cajoling to try to pick up a toy from the “boys section". She has been told off by little boys on more occasions than one, that girls are weak.

Few months ago she wanted to dress up as a nurse for a competition because some little snob told her that only boys can be doctors. It took me days (despite being a dentist myself) to drain that thought out of her brain. So, how do I raise a child who believes in equality for all, when the society around her is hell-bent on teaching her otherwise?

GROUND REALITY

• Children imbibe from the friends and the society around them, as they do from their parents.
• Mere Progressive upbringing is useless if we fail to sync the sensibilities of the world around these children.
• If we don’t change the world around them, our children will have a hard time surviving in it.

Then there is the maternal censoring of violent cartoons, provocative songs, suggestive dance moves and a flurry of peers who encourage her to a more “girly behaviour”. Mums of boys and girls face this problem alike. It feels like rowing a boat against the current. A battle where you lose no matter what you do. You tell your child to speak the truth and be honest in a country full of deceptive leaders and corrupt people. You teach them to ask for whatever they want with a please, while they watch adults snatch food from each other’s hands.

How much of our right upbringing will actually hold up in the world outside of our homes?

Is it indeed useless to teach them good virtues, and then shove them to fend for themselves in the big bad world? Why just limit this progressiveness to our homes? Why not try to set the world right too?

It is just not enough to raise our children right. We need to work together as a community to change the world. This means standing up for diversity, equality, inclusion and everything else that raises a concern in you regarding the well-being of your child.

Set the balls in motion today. Maybe by the time our children enter adulthood, their values and virtues will be in sync with that of the society around them.

Picture Credit: peacequarters.com

Also Read : Why Kids And Their Agency Need To Be Respected

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.