Parenting Lessons from a Game!!

I almost picked up a toy to fling at him.He was driving me nuts right all through the day.He had unfinished meals, had cried three times for 20 minutes each, only because I gave him no for an answer!!

Phew!! What a day it had been, I had, had to cancel a meeting because by the time I had to leave the house to meet the prospective client, my energy had reached, level negative.

Just when Mr. Golden Sun decided to shine through the dark grey clouds that had poured all day, little mister decided to join his friends for a play date.I was more than thrilled to drop him off.At last I had few minutes to myself. The co-creator of the little mister decided to get me some tea, afterall he had witnessed more drama than usual, for a given day.

We switched on the television and tada!! We had football on T.V. and what could be better to watch than, watching 22, almost good looking men go after the possession of just one ball.

The commentator happened to mention the achievements of Kylian Mbappe.I was surprised to hear that he was just 19 years old! Well, I know that there are a few footballers who are of that age but I was astonished to know that the 19 year old decided to give away his earnings to charity as he thought it was his moral duty to play for his country.

I was amused and equally please at the boy’s thought process.I know a few 19-20 year old and they don’t even consider taking care of themselves on their own, as their responsibility!!

Imagine the pride some parents feel if their children did laundry or vessels or helped with the house work.They will showcase it to the world.They want their child to be a master of everything.If their child is learning to play football, they would also want their child to learn karate or kung-fu.I guess they forgot that when they want their child to excel at multiple things it usually ends like, “Jack of all trades and master of none”.

Football is a team sport.It requires you to improve your own skills whilr displaying team spirit.On the other hand, karate or kung-fu requires you to focus only in yourself. Wouldn’t the child be confused on what he has to learn.To top this all, the child is expected to excel at studies too. If he/she doesn’t do well at studies then, the parents take away the privilege to play sports too.

I say its a privilege because being allowed to play and focus on a sport comes after education. Yes education is important but sports is equally important too.It improves your overall personality. For that matter pursuing any extra curricular activity boosts your confidence and adds to your personal development.

India as a nation is a sports loving nation however when it comes to development of sports or sports infrastructure, we tend to step back. Offcourse now sports like football, hockey, kabbadi, badminton, tennis etc. are moving closer to the ranking; cricket holds in this country. We still need a lot of development around peoples perspective on sports and sports as a career.

We as parents often tend to share the load with our kids.Read https://musingsoftheheartandsoul.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/drop-the-cape-share-the-shield/ to understand how we can’t always and shouldn’t, protect our children.

I have always believed in helping a child understand and accept their skills.We definitely want our children to excel in their professional lives but that will happen only if they accept, realise and fulfil their personal responsibilities too.The lessons, yes, begin at home.These are the lessons for life.

Did you hear about how at the World Cup in Russia? The Japanese team and fans cleaned the stadium and the locker rooms before they left and even left a thank you note for the organizers. They did so because that’s what they are taught. They are taught about cleanliness, organisation, being humble and thankful for what they receive and achieve.

We put in a lot of efforts in raising our kids.We try our best to give them the world, lets try to make them realize the worth and importance of what they are getting.

You have the power to control your child’s thought process and behaviour. They can be little devils sometimes.You have the right to put on your horns when they put on their horns because being an angel can be really tough.Like my favorite people say often, ” you gotta do what you gotta do”.😜😜

Happy & Responsible Parenting..its a tough battle, but absolutely worth it.