In today’s world, childhood has become a carefully curated experience — all comfort, no competition, all praise, no criticism. As parents, we want to give our children the best, but sometimes I wonder, are we truly preparing them for life? Or are we unknowingly making them too soft to face the real world?
A thought often strikes me when I attend my kid’s result meetings at school. These days, kids are treated like “aalu munna, nahi le, nahi le!” — as if any kind of pressure or challenge will hurt their delicate self-esteem. Schools have stopped declaring rankings in class results, just to protect them from stress. Forget rankings, even the marks are missing now — only grades are mentioned on the report card.
And honestly, grades toh sabke ek jaise hi dikhte hain! When I meet teachers during result day, they only shower sweet praises on every child, “Bahut acha kar raha hai aapka baccha.” But as parents, we know the areas where our kids are actually lacking — the parts where they need guidance, correction and improvement. But neither the teachers point it out, nor does the report card give any clue. At least if marks were mentioned, we’d get some idea!
I still remember my own school days — when the names of the top 10 students were proudly displayed on the blackboard. That excitement, that curiosity, the pride of seeing your name, or the burning determination to work harder next time if your name wasn’t there — it pushed us to perform, to grow, to handle the feeling of success and failure both. Today’s kids, on the other hand, hardly care about marks or ranks, because whatever the effort, the result will be a neatly wrapped “achha” report card anyway.
The irony doesn’t end there. The same schools, which are so scared of putting pressure, seem to go crazy around exams — even for the silliest syllabus. Earlier, final exams covered the entire textbook. Now, only 4 or 5 chapters are selected even for finals. And for these few chapters, the revision starts a month in advance! Preparation leave is generously given for every single subject, wasting so much of precious learning time. Schools get so obsessed with this small syllabus, that many chapters are simply omitted. And the biggest loss? Concepts that are skipped now will become hurdles later when kids reach higher classes. If the base is weak, how will they climb the ladder of understanding?
Honestly, I believe pressure is not the enemy. Handling pressure, facing failures, learning from them — these are essential life skills that should start from childhood itself. Results with real marks and honest rankings prepare children to face the world outside. It’s not the responsibility of the system to eliminate competition. It is the job of parents and teachers to ensure that competition is healthy, not toxic — that children are not overburdened, but also not kept away from reality.
Another trend I’ve noticed: the slightest change in weather — whether it’s a bit cold, too hot, or heavy rain — and kids are immediately given a holiday or a change in school timings. Thoda resistant hone do yaar baccho ko! Ghar ke aangan, gali, mitti — sabse to bachpan ka rishta hi kat gaya hai. Earlier, in joint families and busy neighborhoods, kids automatically learned social lessons: sharing, caring, handling wins and losses, and staying grounded even after success.
Today, even certificates have lost their value. Attend the simplest summer camp, perform the most basic activity for 10 days — and voilà, a certificate! Kids collect certificates like stickers with little understanding or effort. Add to this the world of video games — instant gratification with minimal struggle — and the joy of true achievement gets diluted even further.
My own son received 10 certificates this year! And deep down, I know he didn’t even fully participate in most of the activities for which he was “awarded.” For example, he barely touches arts and craft, and still, he got a certificate for it. The other day, he sweetly asked me, “Mumma, is baar result acha aaye to please mujhe Nintendo ka ek game dila dena.” And I couldn’t help but smile, because I already knew the result would be “acha” — after all, with grades, what do we really understand about what was written on the paper?
At the very least, schools should show the answer sheets to the parents, so we can see where our kids made mistakes, and help them correct it. This is how learning happens — through feedback, through trials, and sometimes through failures too.
In the end, childhood isn’t about keeping things easy — it’s about building strength for the journey ahead. Life will not hand out certificates for showing up, nor will it always offer second chances wrapped in sugar-coated grades. The earlier kids learn to handle success and failure, competition and pressure, the better they’ll be prepared for the real world.
Let’s teach them not to fear the marks, but to embrace the lessons they bring. Because one day, the comfort zone will disappear, and only their inner strength will help them thrive.
