Last week was kind of busy. We had lots of fun filled moments with friends and spent some quality time with family. We went to San Antonio with my parents. During our drive we had discussed on many topics. One of those topics was how to teach kids self control, being down to earth in spite of all the success, being humble and more important the role of parents in this matter.

Fly without wings;

Dream with open eyes;

See in darkness.

– by Dejan Stojanovic

      The hidden message in these lines is do not be afraid of dreaming big. Even if you do not have wings, that shouldn’t stop you from flying high and reaching your goal. For when you will dream big then only you will think big and when you have a desire to fly high then only you will know the importance of the earth that helped you to gain the momentum. This quote is very inspiring for all of us and especially for the grownup kids and teenagers. When they are about to step out of their shelter, setting new goals, reaching new heights they need to understand that it is more important to know where they are going than to get there quickly. They need to know the direction, the path they are (and will be) following and not just concentrating on how they can get there in less time by taking short cuts.

   Since, there are still many more years for me to experience and present my views on this topic. I asked my mom to write what she has to say. Over to you Aai…

    Dreaming to fly high, dreaming big is very good but while doing this, staying   connected to your roots, being down to earth in spite of all the achievements and success is equally important. It might sound difficult because at this age, peer pressure, peer influence plays a major role and getting carried away by  surroundings is quite natural. This age is like that.

   Parents should try to teach their kids what George Barnard Shaw has said in his quote “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” And in this process they need to find a balance. As I said some times their friend’s influence is so strong that our teaching seems like a waste of time and an impossible task to them. To them what their friends say sounds more convincing. Many times the reason for this might be fear of being misjudged. They are scared that parents will not understand their views. They are kids after all and they too get carried away. So, what to do?-For some period of time and for the sake of your kids, parents need to make some changes within themselves. This is the time when parents need to step out of their parent role and act like their friend. Here, the dilemma comes that if parent act like friend then what about respect? Very true. Kids should not misuse the liberty.

    Now, parents have to find a balance between respect and friendliness. There have to be some set boundaries. They need to know how to implement this combination in their behavior and play both the roles efficiently. We have learned this over a period of time and for every parent the situation is different so is the way of handling. But the bottom line is they should have ‘respect’ (and not ‘fear’) towards you. And while doing all this do not forget to tell them time to time the importance of showing their gratitude towards all the good things that have made their lives beautiful.

Good luck for your parenting journey. It is definitely challenging but truly beautiful!!

Thanks Aai for sharing your views. I don’t think I could have written all this on my own.