By Sriranjani Manivasagam

I happened to recently view the interview of Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi – the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo, on the YouTube channel National Defense. There, she delivers an important message to all parents. She says that parents should always nurture their child’s dream when it occurs in their thoughts for the first time. And if parents try to suppress it the first time, the child will never be able to realize it.

The dream which the child bears at a tender age is a pure desire that comes straight from the heart. It is completely free of poisonous influences from the society, familial pressures or desires of good job opportunities. It may be the child’s true calling in this world. Quite often, the child’s dreams are dismissed based on facts that it is too immature, the child does not yet know the real world, and most frequent of all – what kind of scope will the child have in future and how will he earn money? Yes, as parents your concerns are valid. But it surely does not give you the right to sabotage your child’s dreams. It is high time that you realize that the days of conventional jobs are over and numerous opportunities await your child. It is my earnest request that when your son or daughter comes to you for the first time and shares his or her ambitions, please do not say, ‘No, that you cannot do’.

Acknowledge their dreams even if you might think that your child can never make a career out of it. As a parent and a mentor give hope to your children to realize their dreams. Give them the encouragement they need and they will definitely find the path to convert their dream into their profession. At the least, pretend to be okay with it because you will be surprised in time, at the things your children can do eventually with what started as a tiny spark. And for all those parents who reject their children’s dreams by stating that he or she is not fit to do that and does not have what it takes to pursue it, listen carefully! Let the world judge your child but as a parent DO NOT ever do that. At least let them fail in something they want and not something imposed upon them forcefully. Let them learn the brutal reality in their own way instead of being declared unsuitable by you, their parent.

Children are immature and they do not know enough of what is out there. But please do not ever make them feel as if they don’t know what is in them anymore. Being under your influence, the child may eventually believe that the dreams he once had, had indeed been too childish and not suitable for the real world. Many of you like to argue that kids can eventually turn their profession into their passion although they may have not liked it in the beginning and also quote few examples of people in this category who emerged successful. But those are the few you have heard of. What about thousands of kids who are lost in life not knowing what their true calling is? If they want to trace back to the root cause of the problem they can point their fingers straight at you, parents. But they do not do that. They love you so much and cannot bear to hurt you by saying that you ruined their lives. They struggle each day in life pushing away thoughts of ‘ What if I had……’

Motivation speeches that they hear online everyday give them hope that it is never too late to discover themselves!

Dear Parents, I sincerely request you to give it at least a thought, now that it is already too late for you.

About the Author:  Sriranjani Manivasagam is a final year undergraduate student of genetic engineering at SRM Insitute of Science and Technology, Chennai. She like writing short stories and articles addressing social issues and would like to pursue Neuroscience for higher studies.