The 5th in the series of informative workshops conducted by The Hindu In School on ‘Handing Adolescent Issues’ was organised at the Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School in Thane on July 21.
Noted psychologist, art and dance exponent and poet, Dr. Tushar Guha, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Guha brought out the complexities involved in raising adolescents. He emphasised on the fact that parents often overlook the finer details in the transitional phase and start behaving differently. “They also expect too much from the adolescent child. Parents should realise that this is a phase of transition and give time to the adolescent. It was also important to communicate frequently and appropriately with the adolescent,” he said.
R.Vimala, CEO, Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission gave examples of Krishna and Arjuna to say that at no point of time did Krishna direct Arjuna to do something. “He would always show the various paths and ask him to choose the correct one. Parents should also be the guiding force bringing out the path of righteousness to the notice of their children and make them choose the right path,” she said.
Dr. Guha also dwelt on the difference between acquiring degrees, knowledge and education. “A truly educated person will be mature and use education for their growth and development. It was also necessary to imbibe a sense of belonging amongst children. This was possible only when they discussed and looked up to their own family with a sense of pride,” he explained.
Dr. Guha mentioned that somewhere along the lines we had forgotten to dream. “It was important to dream only then we could probably grow in life. Reading out fairy tales was also extremely relevant to kindle our creativity. Parenting was not a one-time solution, but an evolution of ideas,” he concluded.
Ms. Vimala opined that parents should also be more mature in this phase of transition of their child and know where they should step up and where step down to discipline their child. “Love and discipline need to be used appropriately. They should also never belittle their child as that would damage their self-esteem. Each child was different from the other and needed to be treated accordingly,” she said.
The IAS officer further noted that social norms were also changing, e.g. having a boyfriend or girlfriend had become more acceptable now. “Despite that the pressures of obtaining good marks and rank in school or college was a matter of concern. It was important to communicate with the child, speak to him or her to avoid conflicts,” she said.
Saumitra Prasad , CMO of Camlin Kokuyo Ltd emphasised on the beauty of colours. “It is important to devote at least half an hour every week to drawing and painting because it was the best way to refresh oneself,” he said.
The Principal and Director of Education, Singhania School, Revathi Srinivasan spoke about the various workshop series on varied subjects being organised by the school. “About less than 10% of family with adolescents experience conflicts while only 15-30% of most adolescent experience storm and stress. However handling these would not be difficult if parents and adolescents kept their communication channels open,” Ms. Srinivasan said.
The Hindu in School series of informative workshops conducted in association with Kokuyo Camlin and Nrityanjali. N. Vaidyanathan, regional manager and National Head-School Vertical of The Hindu Group proposed a vote of thanks.