THE TIMES – THEY ARE CHANGING….

I remember that in our childhood days, the younger ones in the house were often told stories like “we got you from the fruit seller” or “we found you crying in a dustbin near our house” ? Just for fun sake, that’s obvious, but the insecurity on their innocent faces on hearing such stories and the precious eye to eye smile full of relief that followed it after the elders confirmed that it’s nothing more than a joke,was fun to experience indeed !

With the present generation the story line differs though. You have to be cautious of what you say as their level of exposure to the virtual world is quiet high which in turn has made them sharp at grasping things quickly and also in applying logic to any given situation at hand. Recently one of my friends shared that her five year old daughter came angry one day complaining that she wants to buy a new papa from the market as she could not carry on with a ‘papa like this’ anymore!! Her mother’s constant threats to make her behave when she used to get naughty followed by the consequence that if she would not be a good girl they would get a new baby from the market led to the tables turning on to her papa this time 😅😅 My friend finally sweared never to use that line with her child anymore.

In fact today when I was asking my four year old kid, Soham to finish his milk and Chocos quickly, after every bite he was showing me a thumb down. I ignored it at first and continued with my task of forcing him to finish his breakfast but slowly with the next few bites his single thumb down turned into double. Now with both his hands in a thumbs down position he stared at me to which I finally asked,”what’s going on??” He quickly replied, “main aapko dislike de raha hu, aap mujhe khane laga rahe ho aur padhai karvate ho, aur iPad bhi nahi dete” . ( I am giving you a dislike, you make me eat, you make me study and you don’t even give me the iPad !) For a moment I didn’t know what to react but in a fraction of a second I burst into laughter. Eventually I convinced him to eat. For the record I did give him the iPad after that !

Thanks to the icons these kids watch on the YouTube videos, now they are free to dislike humans in the real world too, easily, with just a thumbs down 👎 and their review of the people’s performances began with the parents at their home first 🙏😁

In the evening when I narrated the incident to my husband we both had a good laugh. As a responsible wife I warned him that now with my review done and delivered, next in line was his. 😉😁

Zamaana Wakayi Mein Badal Raha Hain ..! 😁😁
(The times are changing indeed!!)

– Sonali Bakshi

20/10/2021