As parents, we all wish that our children are super successful, rich, and powerful. We give them examples of many well-known successful people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Dhirubhai Ambani, and Sachin Tendulkar. All these people are masters in their chosen fields and were not necessarily outstanding in academics. But when it comes to working with our children we sadly only emphasize on their good academic performance.
We find it very hard to differentiate between gaining knowledge and getting good grades. As a result, immense pressure is built on the child which eventually kills all their desire to gain knowledge out of curiosity and love of the subject. This results in dry cramming of the facts to gain a good percentage.
This increasing parental pressure to score high grades is very toxic for the child and can harm them on many levels.
By constantly comparing your child to the neighbour’s children, friends in their class, and their own siblings, you as a parent are pitching them against some of their closest people. This can cause a feeling of resentment in the child for all these people who score better than them and because of whom they are being punished.
This constant comparison and pressure to perform works negatively for the child and makes them feel insecure about their own performance and also causes low self-confidence, and self-doubt in their own abilities.
This persistent academic stress is taking a heavy toll on the mental health of the children. According to data, in 2018 there were about 1.3 lakh suicides in the country, and out of this 8% were students.
While academic strengths are undoubtedly essential for the success of children in school, it is important for parents to look beyond the academic strengths of their child. All children have different abilities that may not necessarily be reflected in their academic performance. Focusing solely on academic strengths can lead to neglecting and undervaluing other areas where the child may excel.
We parents should take a step back and analyse why are we putting so much pressure on our children to perform academically. I am sure, the answer unanimously will be, so that our children are successful and have good careers in the future.
In the fast-changing technological advancements that we see today, children would require many more skills to thrive in the future world than just the perfect academic strengths that we concentrate on. These skills of the future are those that can assist the child in taking care of problems and responding to them in an effective manner.
So, it would be such a better idea to equip your child with all these skills of the future which would help them thrive. Because the future as we know it is going to be very different from what you and I as a parent know. With so much rapid development and mankind looking to colonise Mars, or some other deadlier pandemic coming our way, children need to be equipped with much more than just good academic grades to be successful and thriving.
The formula for success is multi-dimensional and not just one-dimensional. Being successful entails developing all powers of the child – physical, mental, emotional, social, moral, and spiritual, and not just scoring a good percentage. Just like if you wish to make good lemonade you would require lemons, water, sugar, and ice, and you cannot make it with just the lemons. In the same way, success requires other skills too rather than just academic performance or good percentage.
If you wish your child to be truly successful then focus on the overall development of the child, as there are many more indicators of success. Here are some areas where parents should focus on the development of the child as well:
Overall parents should aim to support their children in all areas of their lives, including academics, extracurricular activities, personal development, and personal interests. This can help children become well-rounded individuals who are equipped with a variety of skills and talents that will serve them well throughout their lives and help them navigate into the unknown future on their own successfully.