The other day, my friend from Accenture, Tanushree and I were talking about her son, Suhas, who is just 2.5 yrs old. He has his own choices when it comes to wearing clothes and he always picks up matching shoes. He knows what looks good and what not. I was amazed and went back to my childhood. How dumb I was when I was a 2-3 yr old kid? Whatever parents got for me, I wore it without even understanding what choices and color combinations are!
But today's generation is too fast! Today's kids are 1000 times smarter than what we were and they have their own identities right from their birth. They treat themselves as individuals right from the time they start understanding. They want their own little things and they make their own decisions when it comes to what to wear, what to eat, where to go out etc.
My little neighbor, Aarohi, also 2.5 yrs old likes to wear different accessories on different days. One day she likes bangles, the other day she likes to wear bands, one day she ties her hair and on another day wants them to be let free. She has a set of toys and books which she plays with and knows their names by heart. She is extremely smart and matured for her age. I wonder from where does all this come to her?
Children of this generation already know what they want when they go out with their parents. They have their own ideas when they go to shopping malls. They have their shopping list ready! For them, going to McDonalds or Pizza Hut is a great celebration. Clothes and accessories have grown in abundance in past few years even for toddlers and the children are well aware of all the latest fashions and trends and they want good and fashionable stuff for themselves. They want to be well presented to their friends. They do not compromise for anything lesser. If there are 2 kids in a house, as in if there are siblings in the house, each one of them has a different set of clothes and toys and books. Somehow the sharing and that sibling rivalry has vanished with the new age. Is it because the parents are not able to spend quality time with their kids owing to their hectic work schedules, the best bargain they can make is by providing everything to the kids, no matter whether those things are really useful or required for the kids? No doubt all parents want the best for their kids, but their presence and spending quality time with the kids cannot be replaced with materialistic things.
Advertisements on TV make the kids more conscious about what is going on in the world. There are 100 of energy drinks, health drinks, toy shops, play schools that have come up and children know what they want and how to get them from their parents. Aarohi drinks Pediasure (For kids) and she knows it's name and loves it's taste. Exposing kids to media surely makes them intelligent and choosy, but at the same time, they want to have everything that is shown on the TV, which is not always necessarily good for them.
This growing brand consciousness amongst the kids is surely going to pinch their parents pockets and in return, the innocence and the naive nature of kids is somewhere getting lost nowadays. I often jokingly tell Atul, if our baby is brand conscious just like his/her dad, then he better be prepared to shell out extra money on every small thing. Atul is extremely choosy when it comes to shopping. He likes Louis Phillipe and Peter England clothes only. He will buy shoes only from Woodland or if not, from Bata only. When it comes to me, I am miles away from keeping myself abreast with the latest fashion and I will not be surprised if people around think and call me behenji. I rather prefer simple and comfortable things, not very trendy and branded. So, you see we are poles apart when it comes to brand consciousness.
But overall looking at the trend, it is really a tough exercise to strike a balance when it comes to bringing up a kid with the right amount of values and discipline. The right values, qualities, morales have to be no doubt instilled in them, but then how to realize what is good and what is bad for them in that particular time and context?
But, I am sure, all this comes with time.
When a child is born, also his/her parents are born aren't they?
But today's generation is too fast! Today's kids are 1000 times smarter than what we were and they have their own identities right from their birth. They treat themselves as individuals right from the time they start understanding. They want their own little things and they make their own decisions when it comes to what to wear, what to eat, where to go out etc.
My little neighbor, Aarohi, also 2.5 yrs old likes to wear different accessories on different days. One day she likes bangles, the other day she likes to wear bands, one day she ties her hair and on another day wants them to be let free. She has a set of toys and books which she plays with and knows their names by heart. She is extremely smart and matured for her age. I wonder from where does all this come to her?
Children of this generation already know what they want when they go out with their parents. They have their own ideas when they go to shopping malls. They have their shopping list ready! For them, going to McDonalds or Pizza Hut is a great celebration. Clothes and accessories have grown in abundance in past few years even for toddlers and the children are well aware of all the latest fashions and trends and they want good and fashionable stuff for themselves. They want to be well presented to their friends. They do not compromise for anything lesser. If there are 2 kids in a house, as in if there are siblings in the house, each one of them has a different set of clothes and toys and books. Somehow the sharing and that sibling rivalry has vanished with the new age. Is it because the parents are not able to spend quality time with their kids owing to their hectic work schedules, the best bargain they can make is by providing everything to the kids, no matter whether those things are really useful or required for the kids? No doubt all parents want the best for their kids, but their presence and spending quality time with the kids cannot be replaced with materialistic things.
Advertisements on TV make the kids more conscious about what is going on in the world. There are 100 of energy drinks, health drinks, toy shops, play schools that have come up and children know what they want and how to get them from their parents. Aarohi drinks Pediasure (For kids) and she knows it's name and loves it's taste. Exposing kids to media surely makes them intelligent and choosy, but at the same time, they want to have everything that is shown on the TV, which is not always necessarily good for them.
This growing brand consciousness amongst the kids is surely going to pinch their parents pockets and in return, the innocence and the naive nature of kids is somewhere getting lost nowadays. I often jokingly tell Atul, if our baby is brand conscious just like his/her dad, then he better be prepared to shell out extra money on every small thing. Atul is extremely choosy when it comes to shopping. He likes Louis Phillipe and Peter England clothes only. He will buy shoes only from Woodland or if not, from Bata only. When it comes to me, I am miles away from keeping myself abreast with the latest fashion and I will not be surprised if people around think and call me behenji. I rather prefer simple and comfortable things, not very trendy and branded. So, you see we are poles apart when it comes to brand consciousness.
But overall looking at the trend, it is really a tough exercise to strike a balance when it comes to bringing up a kid with the right amount of values and discipline. The right values, qualities, morales have to be no doubt instilled in them, but then how to realize what is good and what is bad for them in that particular time and context?
But, I am sure, all this comes with time.
When a child is born, also his/her parents are born aren't they?
ithe tase "dora" fad ahe...sagle kahi dora che hawe, tiffin box, water bottle, cycle, school bag sagle doramay....toys fisher price chi....ani plus pink n blue color ch pahije for girls n boys resp. yellow, red, green hya colors na tar mahatwach nahi....seriously kids nowadays r very demanding n aware, alert....
ReplyDeleteA very long article in which the same thing was written over and over.
ReplyDeleteA Blog etiquette unasked advice -
Just a suggestion, do not quote anyone with their first name. You never know if you may offend them.
I have a 2.5 yr old son. I couldnt link any bit of him to how a kid was described here. Probably because we dont have a TV at home. We decided it does more harm than good. He is just as innocent as I was interms to fashion, brands and demands.
Books - I have made a world out of them, for him. And youtube is always there for all the rhymes and songs and cartoons.
Thank you @ Anonymous for your candid comments.
ReplyDeleteI take care that the real names are not disclosed to the outside world, when I write articles about those people.
And yes, not having a TV at home makes a great difference in the upbringing and children get to explore other avenues, which they really like.
Thank you for visiting my page.
Yes I do see most children having a choice of their own these days. That in a way is good to see kids becoming more independent, but on the other hand it does bring in a different form of parenting into picture where there's less of parental pampering.
ReplyDeleteAs for the brand consciousness, it does scare every new parent of the demands of their ever more conscious kids.. hehehe. Not to forget the exponentially increased school fees and vocational classes fees. But said that, it's the family values and morals that are more important and that can be inculcated in a child irrespective of changing times :-)
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