Sad State of the Next Generation.

Yesterday, I had gone to a birthday party rather was dragged to a birthday party by my mom when I was indulged with the ghosts in Insidious. I hate parties for one reason because I hate crowd, plus I don’t mingle very well. I am the kind of person who is happy alone. So this birthday party was for a 2 year old kid who doesn’t even know that she is 2 years old now. It doesn’t make any sense to give a party when the kid doesn’t even know why so many people come into their house and incessantly hug or kiss her. Instead, why don’t you do a decent investment for the kid? Give a party when she goes to school and makes friends. Anyway, they had tortured her with all the accessories in the world. She was wearing a salwar, oh please! For God’s sake she is just 2 years old! Especially the crown on her head! Seriously! Give the kid a break.

So, like my mom said, their kid, their wish! Fair enough. I sank in a couch that was in a corner of the room and started waiting for the party to end. After the cake was being cut, the mother conducted few games part of which was a memory game. They had some 12 items in a box which they exhibited to the kids for 5 seconds, they were supposed to remember them and jot them down on a piece of paper. Considering the age difference I was very elder to them I remembered all the 12 items. They were just usual households that any kid can remember. To my awe, these kids blinked and blinked for the entire 2 minutes that was given to them. The winner of the game had written only 8 items and he is in class 7.  It is sad that these fresh brains cannot remember 12 household items that they see everyday!

When I was a kid (why do I feel like a granny when I say this!), we play a memory game where if there are 8 members in a group. The 1^st person says a word which should be remembered by the 2^nd person and they should add another word and repeat it with what the first person had told. So ideally, the 8th^th person should say all the 7 words told by the other 7 members of the group and round 2 starts with 8 words tops other words. I see so many kids coming to my gym. Yes, they are kids who are only in the age range of 10 – 15. I once spoke to a lady at my swimming pool who told me that she brings her daughter to the pool everyday so she can lose weight. How old is the daughter? 12. Numerous kids are made to run by their parents at the park. They cannot run over a lapse. They run out of energy and become very tired. Honestly, sometimes I get very surprised when a kid tells me he is class 4 or 5 because he doesn’t look like that. This could be due to various reasons but the only reason I could think of as a layman is the harmone imbalance which is caused due to the unhealthy lifestyle.

I am not generalizing here but then the lifestyle of a kid these days worries me. Like I said, their pattern of life, the things they see and learn. They are not really very healthy.

We hardly see kids running on the streets these days. They don’t play outdoor games I have not even seen them play cricket. They don’t ride cycles as much as we did. The parents are well off to buy them 2 wheelers, playstation and even mobile phones that they don’t have to take a cycle and ride to a friend’s place in their own locality to play or have an evening chat. They chat on whatsapp and fb, couch/their room becomes their world. How many of you cultivate the habit of reading from a book in your children? How many of you encourage them to participate in outdoor activities? All we do is to push them to do well in their academics (Thanks to Chetan Bhagat because of whom everyone wants to be in IIT/IIM), settle in life but aren’t you supposed to teach the children on how to live a healthy life? Also, encourage them to pursue their passion? How many schools have a dedicated games period where children actually play? Do schools even have playground these days? I doubt.

Life is not just about studies which itself in my opinion is not good. Mugging up and learning about a man who died some 150 years back is not education. It is not history. He lived and died and constructed a tomb for his nth wife is not history. It’s his bloody problem and he was rich enough to construct such a huge tomb! History is what changed a generation; history is something that brought about a change in a country. Playing is playing out in the road amongst dust and mud, falling down and abrading your skin, playing means playing at the beach, dancing in the rain, let them eat unhygienic food how else is their immunity level going to increase? Rather how else are they going to enjoy life? Don’t restrict them let them run, jump, fall down and get up to run again. Restrict the amount of time they spend infront of a TV, playstation, computer or mobile. Teach them to follow their heart. Have healthy conversations with them while you go for a morning/evening walk with them. Teach them the realities of life. Instead, don’t spoil them by asking them to eat the junk food you eat because you don’t have to cook/or you eat it too. Don’t buy them a computer so they will stop nagging you. Let them enjoy childhood as you did. If you fail to give them a childhood you failed to create some beautiful memories in their life. Yes, you are the reason!

Oh yea, the birthday cake had the F**king Dora on it! First, stop making your kids watch that stupid show! There are many ways to improve their knowledge. If a TV can do it, they don’t need parents you see!