Reflecting
from a story which the summary of it is a boy intending to help a butterfly out
from its cocoon, teared out the cocoon to ease the butterfly’s exit but his
good intention has caused the butterfly to permanently loss its ability to fly
as it did not stretch its wings to break the cocoon which actually strengthens
its wings to make it fly ….
Similar it is with the children and youths today, parents seem
to be overprotecting and pampering them by providing all luxuries and comfort
to ensure they are raised at their best. By doing this the parents expect their
children to appreciate them and focus and developing in life …
Well the reality of it is by pampering so, parents are in fact
are doing more of damage than good, the impact of such pampering results in
teenagers begin to take life for granted, they develop the inability to
understand the hardship involved in getting even a tiny luxury, eventually this
situation develops a mind-set which would not take “No” for an answer
Over pampering also hinders opportunity to experiences in life
among the adolescents, experiences in life are the greatest teacher a person
could get and this would pave the way to mental maturity but this becomes
futile by the pampering and over protecting by parents
Many parents today provide all comfort to their kids and expect
them to behave maturely and appreciate life by having the feeling of gratitude
towards them but unfortunately this same parents have never provided the
opportunity for their kids to see nor feel the hardship they go through thus
the feeling of gratitude is far from reach amongst adolescents
It is a natural feeling and responsibility for a parent to
ensure their child has the best but then again the responsibility to enable
their children to think maturely, appreciate life and able to handle life in
any condition also lies on the shoulders of the parent. These skills will only
be acquired when the kids are exposed and educated on the realities of life
I am not generalizing all parents through this article but
looking at the majority of adolescent’s today, it worries that many seem to be
of such with the best intention for their kids just like the boy at the opening
of the article, but the victims of such compassion are surely their kids when
they are incapable of acting maturely nor being incapable of handling
difficulty, this shall cause them loads of misery in their future. The alarming
issue is that today we are having young minds which could hardly think, hardly
articulate, or even state an opinion as a result of being highly secured or in
exposed to experiences ….
Coming through a teenage hood which enabled me to do umpteen jobs, meeting numerous people, handling vast situations and facing many challenges has enabled me to develop into a person of some capabilities today, it gave me the opportunity to acquire the essential soft skills in life, the ability to observe and learn from various experiences are surely gems in life! The following are a few of my journey in life which I regret not an inch as it makes me whom I am today!
Thanks to my parents who gave me the freedom and opportunity to handle life through my very own experience, they have been there when I fell but they had never held my hand too tight to ensure my step was firm …..
Lets ensure kids today are given all the opportunity to become great Individuals tomorrow … Kindly do share with new & current parents whom are raising their kids!
A glimpse of my journey from 13 to the current all along growing up, studying and experiencing life …
- Sold Nasi Lemak at morning market
- Dish washer cum waiter at night stall
- Beverage maker at restaurant
- Assistant in odd jobs like plumbing, wiring, cementing floor, cleaner services
- Door to door salesman
- Promoter in apparel department
- Shopping Mall Promoter in household department
- Roti Canai Maker
- Waiter at Japanese e Sushi Restaurant
- Sales assistant in book store
- Cinema ticket seller
- Bar tender
- Customer care officer at call centre
- Civil defence volunteer
- Master of ceremony at functions
- Assistant Director in the International Affairs & Cooperation
And today a “counsellor” which is rather a noble profession leading towards inspiring many!!!
Suren
