HAPPY - GO - LUCKY YOUTH
K.V Satyanarayana, M.Sc
Late
Sri K. V Satyanarayana Garu , was a Retired Head of the department
of Chemistry , A.N.R. College
The
birth of a baby is an occasion for all-round rejoicing. Even comparatively poor
parents and their parents welcome the new arrival with genuine joy, aside from
illegitimate conception which is either radically aborted or, if delivery can’t
be helped, thrown away for the mercy of the elements.
The normal newborn becomes the cynosure of
the entire family- - close and distant.
That is quite understandable in view of the fact that the mother, in the course of
bearing the fruit, is subject to physical burden and mental tension and travail
– all of which she bears with dignity and decorum.
The
attention of the newborn, however, goes on diminishing in proportion to its
growth. It is a universally observed
fact that the parents’ habits and attitudes to life in general and their
dealings with the child ( and other children) in particular, as he goes on
growing physically and intellectually, will have a tremendous influence and
impact on the child’s psyche. The child,
at least in his earlier years, is likely to emulate his parents to a large
extent. These traits tend to become a
part of the child’s personality as he graduates into an adult. This is perhaps what is implied in Wordsworth’s
famous aphorism that “the child is father of the man”. The child not only inherits the parents’
genes but also imbibes their approach to life’s challenges.
A
lot of responsibility therefore devolves on the parents in the early life of
the child. For the first decade of the
child’s life, almost anything that
happens to or through the child is directly traceable to the parents. A more or less perfectly grown - up child
results if the parents, in their direct dealings with him, are not too harsh or
too lenient, too permissive or too restrictive, too liberal or too demanding,
too interfering or too indifferent. In
short, the child should be neither pampered nor punished too much.
When
the child transcends into adolescence and youth, he is mature enough to
understand his environment and is in a position to make independent judgment. This
is roughly during the second and third decades of his life and this phase is
most crucial for him as well as for others concerned directly or indirectly
with him. Traditionally, this is the
stage when he becomes a full-blown member of the family professionally and societally.
Unless his parents live up to this stage, he is likely to go awry what with the
various attractions around him. If he has
not suffered the pangs of penury and poverty, he is likely to become exuberant
to the point of explosive.
This,
in turn leads to reprimands and censure at home and outside home. But all this should be blamed on his
hormones, which at this stage are vigorous, and in some case, even virulent. Neither strict discipline nor liberal license
can make the child a decent citizen.
If,
somehow, this phase passes, things will become more malleable and less
malefic. The youth transits into middle
age when there is perceptible mellowing.
The period between the second and third decades should be carefully
maneuvered so as to mould the child into a respectable and responsible citizen.
( 2-12-2012)
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