parents!

thing that teens are most sensitive about and the one thing most violated by their parents. Overtly curious parents come straight into their rooms without knocking, yet the teens cannot get into the parents’ room without five raps on the door and a resounding “Come in!” The rules mostly seem to

“Who is this girl you keep talking to?” and inquisitively protective parents. Proximity alarms go off and tempers skyrocket in such scenarios. Words volleyed between the two parties are then repented for weeks together by both. But the point of contention remains the same consistently, over the arguments which follow. The fuming teenager’s mind keeps muttering to itself and at the tipping point, all thoughts spill out. The teen unwittingly bursts out, “Why can’t you leave me alone? Why do you have to know everything? Why can’t you let me live my life? None of my friends’ mums are so poky all the time, so just chill, alright!” And then that a deafening silence envelopes the atmosphere of the household. It is during this time that extremes of emotions are felt. From dress sense to hairstyles, everything can come under scrutiny and eventually come under fire. “Where do you think you are off to in that dress, young lady?” or “Young man, those long locks need to be trimmed before you take off!” are standard expressions every teen gets to hear when things look a little out of shape. It is even more irksome when you are a semi–independent young adult. Almost every guy wants to keep the DiCaprio look, while every girl wants to make heads turn each time she steps out of the house. After all, everyone wants to look their best; if not, why do mums take so much time to get dressed before going to a party?

It is almost as if there is no parity in the application of rules. As if the parents never

The children of today are born diplomats. They know how to negotiate a deal, especially in the currency of grades. Divesh Singh, IT manager, light-heartedly recounts the details of his deal. He says, “I was tired of waking up early in the morning, being pulled out from under my blanket, and I absolutely hated it! Waking up early was so not cool. So I made a deal with my parents. I told them that I would get them the grades they wanted, and in return I would study and play according to my schedule. It worked perfectly!”

It is when the tempers cool down that the real picture takes shape. There are always two sides to a coin, and consequently two sides to a story. If we think that our mother blindly reality she wholly empathises as she posed the same question to her own devoted mother. She always knows better because she can distinguish between good and bad due to her own “extensive real-time experience”. under control soon enough! It is important to note that whatever is said between the parent and child can only be exchanged between very close individuals. Whatever the parents do is only because they want to avoid any episode which will put their children in peril. “We just want the best for you”, is a statement made so often, but each time, every word is truly heart-felt.

If a concerned mother scolds you over the phone from 10,000 km away, it only reflects the fact that one is never a grown-up in the eyes of a mother. Issues like meals and dirty clothes fuel the fears of every worried mother. Would one ever get serious about exams, if mum didn’t put the seriousness of the situation into perspective?

The questions and worries posed by mothers are simply a product of their altruistic love and their desire to see their young ones excel in all spheres of life. They are trying to save their children from making the same mistakes they made.

One must note that parents, being members of the ‘Been There Done That’ club, truly know what makes their child look good. Be it the smart army cut or the graceful ‘Sushmita Sen’ look, they want to see their children stand out from the crowd as civilised individuals. They already know that at this age, grooming oneself to look the best is more important than scrutinizing others.

Overtly curious parents come straight into their rooms without knocking, yet the teens cannot get into the parents’ room without five raps on the door and a resounding “Come in!”

Each time daddy dearest sounds illogical, it’s only because he is overtly protective and wants to keep his angel away from harm’s way. “My baby can’t go there. There was a big brawl in the vicinity!”, dad reflects, reading about a fight which happened about a hundred kilometres away from where his daughter intends to go. At that point of time daddy dearest’s logic may not make sense, but right from her diaper days, all the logical or illogical things he did are expressions of his selfless love.

During these tussles, it seems that nothing will ever turn out right, but even despite such hostility each party knows the significance of the other in their daily routine. But anger clouds over the

Undeniably, we all attribute our existence and identity to our parents. From waking up early each morning to preparing lunch for school, to working late into the night to see their child through college, parents do all in their capacity to give their child the best shot at life. Some young adults live with their folks, while others live thousands of kilometres away. But no matter how far the parents are, they feel for their precious baby, every day, every hour, every minute and every second. No matter how little sense it makes to the average kid, all that parents say and everything they do is indicative of their simple, selfless love. So the next time, before you cross-question your parent, be mindful of the fact you are dearer to them than anything else in the universe!