Parenting Blues

Just attended a panel discussion as a panel member titled 'Duvidha'- about confusion faced by parents of 9th class students about careers and life, and parenting. Rather scary, but had a few good panelists for company, including an IAF pilot, a Doctor, a theatre personality, so not so scary in the end. It was organised by One Foundation, an NGO in Nagpur.

Very interesting. Coincidentally, am reading a book written by Bill Cosby, the star of the Cosby Show, a very popular TV show of the 80s in the U.S., which talks about similar issues about the Black community in the U.S. The book, titled 'Come On, People', is meant to make parents aware of their responsibility in child-rearing if they decide to have children. He talks about the bad effects of gangsta rap, black English and other bad role models in media for black kids.

Bill Cosby was a very successful TV artist, and through light comedy, touched on a lot of important issues like parental control, kids' behaviour particularly teenage behaviour and so on.

The panel discussion got a very enthusiastic response from Nagpur parents, with a hall full of people who were invisible, because the spotlight was on the stage. Focused on our inspirations for our careers, and whether things were planned, or aided by parental or other pressures. A variety of choices and circumstances emerged, and there were probably some takeaways for everyone. For example, letting kids make the final decision about careers, after providing them some advice- Indian parents are still playing God too often.