I was hearing Sumeet Samos on a podcast the other day. And he had some very eye-opening observations to make about savarna kids.
"Savarna kids don't know what they want to do in life. But they are doing everything. They want to do everything."
What he probably didn't realise is that his observation is more about savarna parenting. And we have learnt it from (rich/successful) white people. We are always trying to give our children "exposure", so they can "find their passion". Horse riding, piano, badminton, watercolours - anything and everything. And when they are older we are sending them for internships, so they are exposed to everything from activism to marketing.
Sumeet's statement was both a relief and a revelation for me. I am forever feeling guilty that my children aren't doing enough co-curricular classes. That they aren't honing their talents. The truth is that we are living in the future. In the future the child will need a varied resume for college admissions. So today we must not let the child be a child. Instead we cram their day so they can cram their resumes.
[ We need to get our kids off their devices, of course. We can't let them be addicted to screens, just like they can't be addicted to smoking or drugs. But cramming their day with classes isn't the only way to keep them engaged. Now, at least with Nilay, he just goes on his cycle to some friend's place. Most of the time he and his friends are also just sitting together on their respective devices, I am sure. But when even we as adults have forgotten how to just be at leisure without a device in our noses, how do we expect much more from our children? So yeah, I don't know. I don't know how to help my children just be children, doing children things for a few hours a day, without studies, classes or devices. ]
"Savarna kids don't know what they want to do in life. But they are doing everything. They want to do everything."
What he probably didn't realise is that his observation is more about savarna parenting. And we have learnt it from (rich/successful) white people. We are always trying to give our children "exposure", so they can "find their passion". Horse riding, piano, badminton, watercolours - anything and everything. And when they are older we are sending them for internships, so they are exposed to everything from activism to marketing.
Sumeet's statement was both a relief and a revelation for me. I am forever feeling guilty that my children aren't doing enough co-curricular classes. That they aren't honing their talents. The truth is that we are living in the future. In the future the child will need a varied resume for college admissions. So today we must not let the child be a child. Instead we cram their day so they can cram their resumes.
[ We need to get our kids off their devices, of course. We can't let them be addicted to screens, just like they can't be addicted to smoking or drugs. But cramming their day with classes isn't the only way to keep them engaged. Now, at least with Nilay, he just goes on his cycle to some friend's place. Most of the time he and his friends are also just sitting together on their respective devices, I am sure. But when even we as adults have forgotten how to just be at leisure without a device in our noses, how do we expect much more from our children? So yeah, I don't know. I don't know how to help my children just be children, doing children things for a few hours a day, without studies, classes or devices. ]