There’s a dark side to pampering of children

I REFER to the report, “Couple slap teacher and upload video of incident” ( The Star, Feb 12), on the husband who told his wife to slap a school teacher who had scolded their child. It was highly disrespectful of the parents to slap the teacher even if he or she did make a mistake.

I also find the parents’ love for their child really amazing. These days, there is a tendency among parents to be overly protective of their children and I wonder what the consequences of such extreme indulgence would be for them in later life.

Children are being pampered by their parents no matter how old they are. As a tutor, I see this happening every day. I am able to see how children progress in their studies but, sadly, I do not see them developing in maturity as they do not know how to think out of the box.

When I first started teaching, parents who sent their children to my class told me to “punish my child if he makes mistakes”. That was how parents were those days. Students were also willing to learn the hard way, and that is one of the reasons why they are successful in their careers now.

I barely hear those words from parents these days. Now, tutors are hesitant to punish students because they know they will face the wrath of the parents later.

I sincerely believe parents should think rationally when making any decision on their children’s education. When a problem occurs, parents should take the time to figure out the cause and come up with a rational solution. They should understand that getting angry with the child or teachers would not benefit anyone. Without doubt, parents must train their children to learn through the hard way now because the world is becoming a meaner place.