The increasing menace of Unemployable Graduates - III (Parenting)

Last related post : The increasing menace of Unemployable Graduates - II

This is a story that I think everybody would be aware of and might have read or heard during their childhood. However, let me refresh your memory.

There was a man who lived in a small town with his small family of three - he, his wife and their only son. They were leading a fairly simple life. The boy was a brilliant student who was doing quite well in his academics but his father never seemed to be happy with his efforts and result. The boy loved his parents a lot and wanted to see them happy but his father’s discontent with his academic result always bothered him.

Every passing year his results improved due to his increased effort and he came up to his father with the expectation that finally he would be able to see his father‘s smile on seeing his result and hear a few words of appreciation from him but it never happened.

The boy was confused and frustrated but out of love for his parents he again would labour harder than earlier to achieve much greater heights. His only aim in life was now to see happiness on his father’s face on his achievement. He left no stone unturned to achieve the highest rank.

Finally, his hard labour ripened into him achieving the top rank in the whole state in his board exams. He was very happy that now this is the ultimate achievement and he was sure that now his father would surely embrace him he would see happiness on his father’s face. But nothing happened according to his expectation. His father just gave a glance at his result and just nodded his head and went to his room to sleep. The boy’s heart broke. His mother saw this and a tear fell from her eyes seeing her son’s condition.

The boy dragged his feet out of the house in the darkness of the night. He was wandering aimlessly on the road. As his steps paced, his disappointment was turning into anger. His watery eyes turned red with anger. Suddenly, someone stopped his way holding a sword in his hand with the intension of looting him. The boy was already raging with anger and he was in no condition to get intimidated with the threat on his life. He held the blade of the sword in his hand and shouted in the face of the man to kill him. The man got afraid with this unexpected reaction and his grip loosened on the sword. The boy’s anger heightened and he struck the man hard on his face with his free hand. The man left the sword and ran away.

Now, there was a glistening sword in the boy’s hand, smeared in his own blood. His anger turned towards his father and with a mission to kill his father and end the cause of his frustration, he turned back on his track and ran back to his house with the sword in his hand. As he reached his house, he headed towards his parents room with the intension to kill his father. As he neared the door, he saw that the door was ajar and his mother could be heard. He stopped in his steps and listened.

His mother was crying while addressing to his father, “Why don’t you ever appreciate our son’s achievements? Are you blind? Does your heart not melt seeing his cheerless face?”

His father was calm. He replied, “I know that you are his mother and your heart is soft but I can’t be like you. What do you think, I don’t love my son? Do I not feel elated on his achievements? I do and I also feel bad whenever my son’s expectant face turns dark. But I am doing this for his own good.  Didn’t you see that he has improved from an average student to a state topper? I have not been able to sleep with happiness. But if I will show him my content and happiness on his achievement, he will turn complacent will not aspire to achieve more.”

Hearing this, the boy’s eyes filled with tears and he could not stop himself and rushed inside and fell on the knees of his father, narrated everything and asked for forgiveness.

You must also have heard and understood the moral of this story. I think this story inspires our parenting and we all have followed and believed what this story concludes.

I would like to give you my analysis and the moral of this story. We need to look at the events and consequences analytically.

•  The boy got frustrated and was tensed because of his father’s behavior. (negative)
• The only aim of the boy was to make his father happy. All his desires and aspirations had converged into a single aim of making his father happy and its achievement would have satiated his appetite for further aspirations.(negative)
• What if the boy had not heard their parent’s conversation? He would have killed his father and being prosecuted for the same.(NEGATIVE)
•  His anger vaporized only after hearing his father say that he was happy for his sons achievement.(POSITIVE)

From the above mentioned points you all may realize, how the moral of the same story has changed.

I think all my readers would agree and understand how important role our parenting plays in the life of our children. The parenting has also evolved and changed with the generations. Let us see how:-

• My parent’s generation was forced to follow the desires and aspirations of their parents and they never spared the stick for that.
• My parents didn’t force me to choose the career they wanted. They gave me the freedom to choose whatever I wanted to do but the guidance lacked. This again led to confusion on the part of the young generation which was left on its own without proper guidance to choose the right path of their life. This led to many youth going into the wrong direction because of the freedom.
• Today’s young generation and their parents are undergoing so much pressure of completion and performance that there is always a chance to succumb to that pressure and the increased suicide cases among the present young generation proves my point.

We can pick examples from in and around our own lives and analyse the above mentioned facts.

Every other day there are debates on parenting methodologies and it is important and this is the base on which our children or our next generation moves ahead. I think every parent should train for and understand the best parenting methodologies prevailing.

I am not an expert in giving parenting tips but I would like to mention that it is our duty to explore the interest and the talent of our children and ensure that they achieve great heights. We parents are the real guiding force of our children and one should ensure that nothing goes wrong neither consciously nor unconsciously.

All the children are unique with their own individuality and are incomparable with anybody.