By now everyone must have seen the video on the little girl reading 1 to 5 and the mother slapping her and telling her to learn it. If you haven't then, it goes something like this. A little girl of about 4 or 5 has written the numerals 1 to 5 and is reading it. Sometimes she skips a digit, other times she gets it incorrect. The mom is goading her and little girl pleads with her to teach it "pyaar se", which means "teach me lovingly". Many moms have expressed their shock and outrage at the video on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms. Many of these moms are sharing this and vociferously attacking the mom in the video. Yes moms because the dads who have seen it don't seem to have much to say either way.
What offends them exactly? Is it the slap? Very likely. But, even more likely is that the mothers who share it have done their own share of hitting, slapping, pinching, or hurt their kids physically at some point over something or the other. But, this is not about two wrongs or more making the behaviour in this video okay.
Then there are some moms who are disturbed by this whole culture of pressurising young kids to study hard. Every such mom who was affected by either the slap or the studies, why do you wait for something like this to happen to express your angst? Don't you remember being a kid whose parents have always expected that you perform well in your studies? Don't you remember your friends buckling under the pressure? Before you became a parent you have been at the receiving end of this everyday torture or known kids like this all your life. But, even as a grown up don't find yourself stuck in a situation where you continue to hope that your child will shine academically. Honestly ask yourself:
Why is it that you fret over your child's homework?
Why don't you object when the school sends impossible-for-kids-to-do projects and prefer to do it yourself instead?
Why do you enroll your child in a school solely based on its academic record?
Why do you tell teachers to whack your kids if they are not studying well?
Why do you talk to your playgroup teacher about teaching your kid lower case letters, numbers or whatever else she has not picked up yet?
Why do you treat parent-teacher meeting like it is a town hall of a fortune 500 company?
Why does your child have to burn the midnight oil before board exams or whatever other "final exams"?
Why do you enroll your child in tuition classes from the age of five or even at 15 or 20?
Why is it important for your child to get a better grade?
Why do you shout and scream if your child stays out late instead of studying?
Why won't you let your child go out and play during exams?
We can keep adding to this list of parenting woes from our own past and present attitude to our children and their academic choices.
If you are wondering what all this has got to do with the mom who slapped the girl in the video, the answer is everything! You and I, we are forging the culture which makes it ok to shout at or berate, if not hit, a child for any gap in their academic performance.
If you have never raised a hand at your child, leave a comment. If you have, then please introspect before you shame another mom. Either way, please share this on your Facebook page and WhatsApp groups to show that you want a world where moms don't need to force their kids to study in this brutal manner.
