Making the child competitive is certainly essential.  But,there is an age for everything.  Wisdom lies in choosing an opportune time in order to make the child aware of competitiveness. I'm sure, without knowing these intricacies of parenting, if parents  force, it amounts to negative parenting, which in turn make the child a mental wreck. I'm of the opinion, if properly guided, the child itself learns competitiveness, in a natural way during playtime. Allowing the child to grow in a natural way, pays rich dividends both to the parents and to the Society.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

vijay wrote:

The pressures of competition are very intensive and no one wants to lose the race. Those who can withstand it do good those that can not do not so good.

True...maybe ! But is it really necessary or vital to put the kids up to such fierce competition at such tender young age. Isn't it more necessary to focus on making them more sensitive and responsible instead of just scoring marks?

 

Not many parents understand this..the age old belief is that a student should be with his or her books for hours together before taking any exam. Little do they focus on how much is being absorbed. One cannot concentrate on more than 30 minutes at a time. Your concentration levels come down and you need a short break. In fact the same concept is used while distributing study hours (periods ) in schools. We cannot have more than 40 minutes including interaction ..

rambabu wrote:

Making the child competitive is certainly essential.  But,there is an age for everything.  Wisdom lies in choosing an opportune time in order to make the child aware of competitiveness. I'm sure, without knowing these intricacies of parenting, if parents  force, it amounts to negative parenting, which in turn make the child a mental wreck. I'm of the opinion, if properly guided, the child itself learns competitiveness, in a natural way during playtime. Allowing the child to grow in a natural way, pays rich dividends both to the parents and to the Society.

very well said sir, i too have an opinion like this yeah we shouldn't force any child in any manner, we should let the child understand the need of this world and what all needed to live a perfect life.

usha manohar wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

vijay wrote:

The pressures of competition are very intensive and no one wants to lose the race. Those who can withstand it do good those that can not do not so good.

True...maybe ! But is it really necessary or vital to put the kids up to such fierce competition at such tender young age. Isn't it more necessary to focus on making them more sensitive and responsible instead of just scoring marks?

 

Not many parents understand this..the age old belief is that a student should be with his or her books for hours together before taking any exam. Little do they focus on how much is being absorbed. One cannot concentrate on more than 30 minutes at a time. Your concentration levels come down and you need a short break. In fact the same concept is used while distributing study hours (periods ) in schools. We cannot have more than 40 minutes including interaction ..

Exactly Usha...and another thing I feel is whether scoring marks, remaining on top of the class from Kindergarten to graduation and later, getting a degree is what all of life is about.....How and when will people figure out that there is more to life than just marks and acquiring yet another skill during each vacation or off school hours. No focus on teaching kids to appreciate finer things of life, finer feelings, being considerate of others etc.....That is not included in any of these curricular or extra curricular activities!

what you are suggesting is perfectly right but looks too ideal today. In a society where job with a chair is seen as the ultimate such pressures will be there because such opportunities are now going down. somehow upper class Indians are still averse to taking up vocational training and jobs.

I see the attitude changing slowly but surely ...I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my students both boys and girls working in Mcdonalds and KFC  joints during summer ! A couple of them were doing sales for mobile phone companies. I think this is good because they learn the value of work, money and also respect for work culture . 

usha manohar wrote:

I see the attitude changing slowly but surely ...I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my students both boys and girls working in Mcdonalds and KFC  joints during summer ! A couple of them were doing sales for mobile phone companies. I think this is good because they learn the value of work, money and also respect for work culture

By doing summer job they are not only earning money they are also earning self confidence. 

anil wrote:

usha manohar wrote:

I see the attitude changing slowly but surely ...I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my students both boys and girls working in Mcdonalds and KFC  joints during summer ! A couple of them were doing sales for mobile phone companies. I think this is good because they learn the value of work, money and also respect for work culture

By doing summer job they are not only earning money they are also earning self confidence. 

Self reliance, having confidence on one's self, positive attitude,  sense of saving all these qualities will be imbibed.

 

vijay wrote:

what you are suggesting is perfectly right but looks too ideal today. In a society where job with a chair is seen as the ultimate such pressures will be there because such opportunities are now going down. somehow upper class Indians are still averse to taking up vocational training and jobs.

It might seem ideal today but it is the right way to go... I know that upper class Indians and now even Middle class have joined them, are averse to vocational training and related professions, but that doesn't mean we give up trying. A country will remain productive and progress in the right direction only as long as people work hard with their own hands. Even if office jobs are the ones only pursued, there will still be things needed to produced, food grown with hands and I am sure, parents who can think and reason logically will understand importance of vocational training. Once IT sector was the most wanted, it still is, but during the recession period, we have seen how fragile that industry is. And there are hundreds of examples around us where young people who are innovative and enterprising are making more money in own businesses than such glamorous jobs. Not just making money for themselves, but providing livelihood to others, which is more important than any such job.

usha manohar wrote:

I see the attitude changing slowly but surely ...I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my students both boys and girls working in Mcdonalds and KFC  joints during summer ! A couple of them were doing sales for mobile phone companies. I think this is good because they learn the value of work, money and also respect for work culture . 

Yes, Usha, it is a positive sign of changing attitudes. In Pune and Mumbai, majority of students opt to work at summer jobs which prepare them fro future careers and help shape their personality.