When adults display themselves in their children.....

Today we attended my little girl’s day care annual carnival. We were there on the dot and by then the functional hall was half full. Hall was buzzing with adults and kids alike. Adults were carrying all kinds of electronic gizmo's like cameras, and video recorders along with their child’s costumes to perform.

Thanks to the effects of globalization, many children had costumes that were inconsistent with their family belief systems such as an obvious non-Christian family dressed up their daughter in Christian bridal attire, traditional families have dressed up their child in ultra modern clothing so on and so forth. Some four year old's were dressed up like Sunflower, Robot, and Superman etc.

Many kids during the talent show, refused to do anything but the parents were literally on the stage holding the mike for the child and asking him/ her to say or do what they had practiced at home. One mother literally held her child’s hands and did all the dance moves for the music when the child refused to do it.

Watching all these made me ask myself a question “what are we as parents trying to do and why? What I saw there is that the families have increased disproportionate amount of money to spend and are competing with the next-door Jones’s to show themselves as the worthy parents. It was fun to watch the kids run around but what the parents were doing there may have sent a subtle message to the kids and that is: It’s the SHOW that matters.

I am not against our children dressing up uniquely but let us not forget the fact that it is a children’s program and we – adults, need not take these things so serious that we get overly indulging to make our kid to perform whether they like it or not. When we do that, we may be trying to display ourselves in our children.

Ruby