Say What??

Summer Holidays. Always meant cold coffee, mangoes, no studies, lotsa masti time and of course the visit to the grandparents home for close to two months. A four day train journey, with changing trains along the way, hoping & praying that the tickets booked, would actually be utilized.

The train journey would be eventful by itself. A bunch of us start together, till we reach our respective destinations. We'd raid the pantry, bug our fellow travelers, generally having a whole lotta fun and creating awesome memories along the way. Being a part of a large joint family had(has) its perks. Never missed friends esp during hols, there was this guarantee that someone would always be there giving you company. The parents had no clue what the children were up to, yet we survived and managed and those fun years have resulted in some great relationships, even if the elders don't have.

And now summers holidays are all about summer camps, short short trips, shorter journeys and of course the video games. Joint families have given way to nuclear families, and most double income households and single children left with maids, the new age nannies. And in most households, grand parents have been relegated the nanny status and not necessarily during the hols only.

Another new thing or fad as I would like to call it, that has started is the singing & dancing Reality Show's for kids. This has taken parents ambition to new heights. Holidays are definitely not meant for stressful activities for children. Exams are enough stress already. They are supposed to be fun & carefree & definitely not to be spent waiting in the blazing heat for their turn in the audition. And not to mention the stress of the practice sessions, the performance and the pain of rejection/failure. I'm not sure though if one of the parents stays with the child during the competition. Are the children equipped enough to handle all this? Their parents certainly can't, they break down, insult & misbehave. All this for 2 min of fame!? Agreed the reality shows have opened new gates, but there needs to be a change in the law (child labor law perhaps). And where does one draw the line? Does the impressionable young, yet to develop mind of a child not matter at all?

Yes, the kids have talent, can it not be honed in dance schools and smaller competition's? Yes, these days summer hols are meant for singing and dancing auditions in reality shows for which they prepare through out the year.

Yes, they dance well. Yes, its a great platform. And yes, Imp loves Boogie Woogie and Dance India Dance esp the little master's and wants to participate too. But that does not mean I forget being sensible. One of us has got to be an adult sometime.

And the lesser said about the provocative costumes and lewd vulgar dance moves and songs which the parents have no problem with, the better.

How far would you go to make money?

Would you put up your child on hire? To have total strangers look after your child in their environment and you get paid for it.

A baby, a toddler, a growing child right from infancy, needs and feels secure with a said routine, a familiar place with familiar people, technically the family. Not strangers, not a strange place, irrespective of the fact that it is the parents who have introduced them to the kid or that the parents are always there in the background. It is the parents job to be a parent and not let some celebrity part of some show become parents for few days.

Imagine the emotional and psychological turmoil in the kid in such surroundings. I'm really shocked that such a show actually took off. And that there is so NGO opposing it. What is our health govt doing? Where is the so called moral police? Nobody finds this offensive?

All I can think of is the babies. They sure as hell look cute, all babies do. But their crying is not because of food or sleep its primarily cause they're insecure. Heck even as new parents, one does not know what a child is going through, why and what is it that is making them cry. how can it not break their parents heart. Is it cause they can't talk?

In case you are wondering what I'm talking about; just saw the promos of a new reality show on NDTV Imagine, Pati Patni Aur Woh. The show is about taking the relationship to the next level, to test if the celebrity couples are ready to take on the biggest challenge of their lives - Becoming Parents.