I had very enthusiastically learnt how to drive a car while growing up and I quite enjoyed driving. That was only until the time I didn’t have my own car!
My brother and I would always fight as to who would drive when we went out of station. Many a times I even joked that probably I was born to be a driver. And then came a time when I started working, bought my own car and driving to work became the normal routine.
Each morning I saw people impatiently driving on the road. Well, to that you would say, “What’s the big deal, we see that everyday too.” Indeed it’s become so normal for us to see people honking, skipping a light or even abusing while driving. It has become so routine that somehow it looks almost normal now. While I diligently wait on a traffic light vis a vis there is traffic or not in the mornings, I invariably get honked from vehicles behind with people giving me looks that say, “Why the hell are you waiting on an empty road?” Well I have got used to that too. It stopped bothering me also after some time and I really don’t regard driving as fun now!
Just the other day, while driving to work my soothing music in the car was disturbed by a continuous honking. I checked on my rear view mirror to see what the matter was as there was no way I could have given the car a pass. However it seemed that the young man driving the car had got his hand glued to the horn.
Somehow, in about 40 seconds (which seemed to be 40 minutes as this guy was honking continuously) I did manage to give the man a pass and he rushed his vehicle past me, giving a dirty glance. What surprised me was what I saw at the back of his car when he drove past me. On the back seat sat a small kid, about 5 years old in his school uniform.
Probably the father was going to drop his son to school while going to work. Probably the father had got late to drop his son & in turn late for his work and hence was rushing. What upset me more that the rash driving was that what was this father unconsciously teaching his son? He was teaching his son, that in order to get your way, you create a lot of noise and make your way through!
It got me thinking. No wonder kids nowadays have very little patience. The child religiously must be seeing this scenario every morning. The first morning lesson the child is getting is that you need to push your way through.
Why do we blame our kids then?
Why do we say that kids from very young age are becoming stubborn, impatient and defiant?
I got so upset after this incidence that I felt like going after this fellow just to tell him what values was he imparting to his son unknowingly. But then I realized, there are so many people like this guy. We need to consciously work on what generation of kids we want. The generation we are breeding is going to be a true mirror if what we are today.
So please drive carefully as somewhere there is a kid questioning his mother & father that how is it alright to move the car on a red light as only yesterday he learnt in school that Stops Says The Red Light!
At school educators are working hard to teach children to wait for their turn. Each day the child is unlearning the significance of waiting for his turn when he sees you impatiently trying to make your way through a queue.
Parenting is a continuous & ongoing process that requires you to be alert 24 X 7. So let’s all take a pledge today to be perfect role models for the coming generation.
-Divya Joshi
