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Spice of life | Raising a genius in world of cut-throat competition
She said, “My dear, the best way for the child to become a genius is to let the child flower and become one on his or her own, and not through some regimented routine.”
“I think she should learn acrobatics. Have you seen the way she jumps?” “She can be a top-class gymnast!” is what I hear many times for my daughter, who is hardly four years old. These compliments, as much as they are heartening, often leave me wondering how we are all inclined to the idea of rearing children only as champions. It’s almost like we are not agreeable to the idea that one can be mediocre, academically or professionally.
Being a mother of two, most of my day goes in planning their meals and nap times. It often leaves me feeling guilty when I look around at my peers, most of them supermoms juggling their children’s routine, driving them from one class to another.
One day, feeling the pressure of not doing enough for my children, I started browsing the internet for available extracurricular activities nearby. The screen left me gaping at the world of genius kids with a class for almost everything. There were classes that I never knew existed, such as for animal bonding, abacus training, Lego building blocks, and personality development. There was also a class for free play! At the click of a button, I could enroll my gymnast daughter for a dedicated play hour in a park with a coach.
My quest for classes ended in a laugh, for I was browsing the internet from the park itself while watching my girl running around. Tempted by the promising advertisements, I clicked on a link that said: “Do you know your child is a genius?” The link led me to a detailed online programme, carefully crafted course to make a child prodigy, at a cost, which I could ill-afford. Just when I thought I had lost the opportunity of raising a genius, an elderly woman came to my rescue.
“We were six brothers and sisters, and whoever was good was provided with an opportunity to go for higher studies. The mediocre ones were given primary education and asked to work and contribute to the family’s income. The intelligent and mediocre both did well because the benchmark in our times was a well-established value system,” she said, taking a dig at the new-age supermoms trying to turn each child into a genius.
“The new generation of parents prefer a single child and wants to give the best to that flag-bearer of the family name. However, along with that, they put the burden of being the best, of being one in a million. And, if the single child at some stage gets a sibling, they’ve had it. Competition begins right at the doorstep,” she said, adding, “My dear, the best way for the child to become a genius is to let the child flower and become one on his or her own, and not through some regimented routine.”
Finding her piece of advice as succour to the soul, I promptly deleted the emails I was receiving from “genius-making” companies. Done and dusted, I smiled on spotting my daughter teaching her friends how to write alphabets in a flowerbed of the park. Maybe not a genius, but I’m happy I’m raising a kind and emphatic child in this world of cut-throat competition. sannakaushal@gmail.com
The writer is a Hoshiarpur-based freelance contributor
