In the past parents had always wanted their children to do well in academics.  Even parents of children who were average or poor in studies always nurtured hopes of their children doing well in studies.  The economic status of parents differed as some of them could not afford a decent education to their children and yet their desires were on par with parents of children who had access to the best of education.

Another aspect those days was no parent wanted their children to focus on extra curricular activities. Participation or even excellence in sports was considered to have an negative impact on the child's future because of the fear of affecting their  studies.  Here also parents inspite of their financial or social status were unanimous in their thinking.  Irrespective of student being good at sports or studies or in both aspects parents wanted them to concentrate only on studies.  The reasons for parents wanting their children to focus only on studies are given below:-

Good Name and Fame:- The perception of parents is that a qualified person enjoys a better status in society.  A qualified person has a chance of being famous in the society and is also well talked about by others  in the society or  the environment he lives in. Also parents feel that their children have a good chance of going abroad and make it big in life.

Better Job or Income:- According to parents line of thinking, excellence in studies leads to a better qualification.  The better the qualification, parents feel better are chances of their children getting a good job either in terms of income or position or in some cases both of them.  Better income and better job translates directly to a better future. A better future for children means a better future for parents too.

These days however parents seems to have god rid of that mindset and come to a mindset which is exactly the opposite.  Parents are focusing more on sports especially cricket.  The reasons for the sudden shift in mindset of parents is given below:-

Sports especially cricket gives instant fame and money:- Parents have come to realize that sports especially cricket gives instant fame and money and parents know that if they make their children sportsmen especially cricketers, their children stand to make 100 times more money that he would have made in a entire lifetime even if employed the best of companies in the best of jobs.  Also their children attain instant fame becoming household names and watched my millions of people live in stadiums and on television.  Nothing gives  parents more pleasure than their sons names being seen on Internet and being watched by people on television endorsing products.

Parents want to realize their own unfulfilled  dreams through their children:- Another aspect is parents these days tend to realize their own unfulfilled dreams through their children.  The parent when he was a child could not have become the sportsman he aspired because of lack of infrastructure.  It could also be possible that the parent though had ambitions of making it big in sports lacked the drive and determination and wants to complete his own drams through his child.  Another point is the parent as a child would have been good enough to become a sportsman but had to succumb to pressure from his own parents and therefore had to sacrifice his career for them to attain excellence in academics.  The parent therefore does not want to be a bottle neck for his child like how his parents were during his childhood.

These days paretns are on an overdrive in getting their children trained in caoching academies and this is treated as a part of their overall education.  Parents are also getting their children coached in dancing classes so that they can make it big in the entertainment industry and earn lot of fame and money.  One finds parents more excited than children while watching their children perform in Television shows.  Some parents are seen crying if their children fail in the show while for some tears roll unable to control their happiness.

These days one finds lot of small town players in Indian Cricket Team.  The reason for this is that the parents push their children hard to take up cricket as it is one game which is most lucrative in terms of many and in achieving instant super stardom. Parents of many cricketers have expressed  in television interviews that it was their dream to make their child a cricketer and that they are happy to see their son in the team.

In the coming years it would not be surprising if parents put pressure on educational institutions to focus more on sports and in all likelihood they would prefer to get their children admitted in schools which has better infrastructure in sports.