Parenting in the Modern Age: A Call for Balance and Awareness
Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we truly being fair to our children?
Parenting today bears little resemblance to what it was even a decade ago. The fast-paced lifestyle, constant digital distractions, and changing family structures have transformed both the challenges and the opportunities that parents face.
In their effort to maintain harmony between professional and personal life, many parents end up yielding to every demand of their children—reasonable or otherwise. What begins as affection often turns into over-indulgence. Children, pampered beyond measure, gradually lose the ability to handle denial or constructive criticism. The result is fragile self-esteem and diminished emotional resilience—often leading to psychological struggles that become harder to correct later.
Dependence Over Discipline
A growing concern among educators and psychologists alike is the increasing reliance of children on parents and domestic help for even the simplest daily tasks. Tying shoelaces, packing school bags, or cleaning up after play are no longer viewed as essential life skills—they are outsourced responsibilities.
This dependency delays the development of crucial self-management abilities, which form the foundation of a child’s confidence and independence. The habit extends into school life, where many students look to teachers for tasks they should perform themselves.
Teachers, naturally intent on fostering independence, often encourage children to take small initiatives. Yet, some parents misinterpret these gestures as the child being “made to work.” Complaints follow, and a well-intentioned effort to teach responsibility becomes a point of friction.
It is time to rethink this attitude. Allowing children to take charge of age-appropriate responsibilities builds confidence, adaptability, and self-worth—qualities that no amount of comfort can substitute.
A Mirror to the Past
Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we truly being fair to our children?
Let’s pause and remember how earlier generations were raised—with discipline, respect, and independence. We learned to accept criticism gracefully, to value hard work, and to find joy in simple achievements. Those experiences made us resilient, grounded, and grateful.
Why, then, are we hesitant to gift our children those same formative strengths? Over-protection may feel like love, but it robs them of growth.
As a community, we must move away from the culture of spoon-feeding and instead nurture young minds that can think independently, act responsibly, and shoulder life’s challenges with quiet courage.
Schools, too, have a vital role beyond academics. Rather than merely competing for higher enrolment, they should focus on guiding parents—helping them raise well-balanced, self-assured children who are emotionally and socially equipped for the future.
The Screen Trap and the Rise of Acquired Autism
An alarming new dimension of modern childhood is the rapid rise in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Global data reveals a steep increase—from about 62 per 10,000 children in 2012 to nearly 100 per 10,000 in recent studies.
Even more concerning is the emergence of acquired autism, linked primarily to excessive and unsupervised screen exposure. In many homes, devices have quietly replaced companionship. Parents often resort to digital bribery—“Finish your homework and you can play on the phone.”
What seems harmless slowly erodes social interaction, communication, and critical-thinking skills. Playgrounds are empty; conversations replaced by screens. Childhood is being digitized, not lived.
Technology is an enabler—but only when used within the boundaries of supervision, moderation, and discipline. The goal is to make children tech-savvy, not tech-dependent.
Towards a Balanced Tomorrow
Parenting has never been easy—but today, it requires heightened awareness and collective reflection. The balance between love and discipline, between guidance and freedom, is delicate yet essential.
Let us, as parents, teachers, and a society, stand united in our resolve to raise children who are strong, self-reliant, and compassionate. Children who are not shielded from life—but prepared for it.
Because ultimately, the measure of good parenting is not how happy our children are in the moment, but how capable they are when the moment challenges them.
“Let us nurture with wisdom, love with limits, and guide with grace. Only then will our children rise—not merely to exist, but to excel.”
