I recently realised and noticed the startling revelation about the similarities between rearing a child and planning a vacation. In spite of you putting in all the effort, giving up your sleep for making it the best possible trip and taking care of every minute detail, you realise there were things you missed or could’ve done better.
Similarly, no matter how much you guard your alone time with your family or anticipate the relaxed unrushed mornings, some things or rather people can completely change the experience for better or for worse. But the best part is that you get to realise and appreciate your own strengths as parents and can put a lot of objectivity on certain situations you generally have to deal with.
Last week our family went out on a weekend and I was so amazed and amused to see various parent travellers with vastly different parenting styles and personalities that I couldn’t help notice and share with you all.
P.S. – As I always say, nobody is perfect so all this is only in good humour.
1. Delhi Parents
I hate generalisations. I really do and this point is not only for Delhi parents, it’s mostly for parents from anywhere who behave like Delhi parents; which is loud! I would’ve not realised it and found it extremely racist had it not been me experiencing it firsthand. Not just one family or two but many. (I would like to take the privilege of being the admin here and exclude myself from the lot)
You can recognise them easily. Starting from reception area where their kids would be gulping down 2-3 welcome drinks to father loudly talking on the phone while mothers would be busy taking pictures. The children are allowed and not stopped from jumping in the ‘No Jump Allowed’ pools. Also the parents are least bothered if children are shouting and yelling, because that’s what they believe is the normal tone. I was so Not surprised by the casual comment of our safari driver that “We get to know the Delhi crowd from the noise they make”!
2. The Always Feeding Parents
I wouldn’t lie but I could so identify with some of the women that I saw pushing the morsels of food down the throats of their teary eyed toddlers. Their only mission and motivation in life is to feed the child as much as they can. They are always putting heaps of food on the plates of their kids without worrying of the waste. The buffet system can be a disaster with such parents because they are going to try every single thing that is available to feed the already fed child who doesn’t want to be fed anymore.
3. The Least Bothered parents
This lot is so proud and so least bothered of any or all activities of their kids that you would notice them smiling even at the things where there should be a hard glance or a strict disciplinarian action. A child pushing another, snatching toys and running wild should be stopped but this herd thinks that all of this is natural to children and one should not come in between what is natural child like behaviour. I remember one such child of 7-8 talking loudly in the middle of a live music, the reaction from the parent? He spoke in the same volume, smiling!
4. The paparazzi parents
I know I am as guilty as charged and totally belong to this group but there are many who would bag the title by such a great margin that it is heart breaking for me. Such parents would rarely be in the moment. They are always, always taking pictures and constantly uploading it on social networking sites for instant feedback and comments. The good part is they are not as harmful as other groups are. They are happy creating the best Facebook friendly pictures, getting comments, discussing and moving on to the next one.
5. The Free spirited
They are relatively a new breed in the times of over protective parenthood but this group is truly different. They would be nowhere to be seen in close proximity of the children and would take it for granted that if you are playing with your own children you would play with theirs too while they can talk on the phone or take a leisurely walk. The best part is they would always have an absolutely compatible partner and it is not strange to see them both hysterically searching for the child every now and then.
So which category you would like to put your fellow parent travellers to or better still, do you have more categories? If yes, we would like to know about them. Please write your suggestions and comments in the comments below.
Happy travelling!
