What makes a parent happy? Seeing your child happy, right? Then why do they often end up being the ones who snatch their child’s happiness? Ever noticed why children take extreme steps like suicide, especially before an exam or after any result declaration. The purpose here is not to scare you but to show you the reality. You could be the best parents for your child but do they share a similar point of view? No doubt they love you, and so do you, but what about the other side of the story? You might be unaware of these things that you could have been doing subconsciously and chasing unhappiness as parents. Such things can lead to repercussions with adverse effects not only on your parent-child relationship but also on your mental health.
1. Parenting Style
The ways and methods you adopt to raise your child are directly proportional to the happiness it will bring in the parent-child relationship. A family where parents exhibit dictatorial behaviours and oppress children to voice their opinions can never be happy. A lot of kids admit that they are more scared of their parent’s reaction to their marks than the exam itself, and that fear worsens the situation in exam halls. Certain behaviour of yours makes them live under fear of letting you down.
2. Choosing Society Over Kids
Let go of what Sharmaji’s kids are doing and start focusing on what your kids want. Your niece or nephew took science because they were interested, a subject that your child runs from, so don’t force them for such things. Award-winning movies like ‘Taare Zameen Par’, ‘3 Idiots’ have time and again emphasised similar aspects. It’s high time to realise that there is no dearth of career choices today and one can have a secured future.
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3. Stuck With Traditional Thinking
Gone are the days when you got to be engineers, doctors or, lawyers to be successful or make money out of it. ‘Shark Tank India’, a revolutionary business reality show, is breaking all such myths. The sharks of the show had left their traditional jobs to make something big. They are the living epitome showing that one can carve their path if one is passionate about it. So, stop questioning the idea of going for other career paths.
4. Forcing Your Decision
Putting unnecessary pressure on kids that they can’t withstand often leads to depression and severe mental health issues. Understandably, they can’t take major decisions but shunning them from participating is never an ideal decision. But make them a part of such things, teach them how to think and not what to think, and they’ll turn out to be great decision-makers in the long run. When you force anything on children against their will, and they are not able to accomplish it, they get crushed under disappointment and guilt and start developing the feeling of being incapable.
5. Lack Of Understanding
A mismatch of thinking is common when you have a generational gap, but that should not act as a barrier. Just like any other parent, you might want to see your kid excelling in all the things, but understand that not every child can be an all-rounder, and that is completely okay. Everyone is born with a different set of capabilities. Virat Kohli could suck as a singer but amazes everyone when on the cricket ground. The same goes for your child also.
6. Governing Not Guiding
The current generation is the extension of the previous one, which means they have a higher IQ and are more competent. To flourish and prosper, they require an ambience where they could be guided so that they explore. If you are constantly setting out rigid rules, then clashes are bound to happen. Yes, it’s your right and duty to have a say but make sure that you draw the line between being concerned and being controlling.
Bottom Line
Parenting is dicey but not something you can’t understand. Just be there for your child as their pillar of strength and love them for who they are without comparing them with others. Don’t ever make them choose between parents and passion. Instead, be their cheerleader who supports their passion. It’s that simple to choose happiness while raising a kid.
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