A Mother’s Post Applauding Her Son’s 60% Marks Is The Exact Wave Of Change That We Need

“Why aren’t you working hard?”, “you should learn a thing or two from your brother”, “did you know that bua ji’s son scored a 99% last year?” These are the things that our children have to get through with even before they start thinking about the board exams. Dealing with parental and societal expectations is probably worse than the exams itself, for most of the students. Amidst all this chaos, a mom’s FB post appreciating her son for scoring 60% in the tenth boards is like a breath of fresh air that was much needed!

Vandana Sufia Katoch, a mother of two, posted the note of appreciation on her Facebook profile on 6^th May, soon after the CBSE boards results for class tenth were announced. The post went viral overnight and as of now has 15k likes, 2.1k comments, and 7.4k shares! “Here’s to you, Aamer. And others like you – fishes asked to climb trees. Chart your own course in the big, wide ocean, my love.” This is what we all needed from our parents and if we never got it, at least we can do that for our children. It doesn’t matter if your child scored a 90+ or if he/she barely got through the exams. As long as they are hardworking and passionate, they can achieve whatever they aim for.

It is not an unusual thing to wake up in the morning and read about students commit suicide because they scored “bad” in a particular exam. It has kind of become a trend nowadays. But can we really blame the children? With the competition and comparison they face along with the bulky textbooks, they are bound to feel lost at least for a while. Our society has probably lost a lot of talented young artists, sportsmen, orators, and writers because they are all engineers and MBA professionals now.

Things certainly have to change and Vandana’s post getting so much of appreciation all over the country proves that at least some of the parents are on the right track. The Delhi-based mom, who is also the founder of two companies, is overwhelmed by the response her post got. She put up another post thanking everyone on 8th May. “This is for all of us,” she said in the post.

We’re sure that Vandana’s son is going to grow up without fearing the societal pressure because of the faith that his parents have in him. When your child gets through an important exam, his/her hard work is what you’ve got to appreciate and not the results. Sadly, the grades and exam culture in India is more like a family thing- it’s a conversational piece for moms, dads, grandparents, and distant aunts to boast and compare their children. Nobody really thinks about the stress, anxiety, and depression that may affect their child when they willingly push them into the well of competition.

Vandana is one of those few parents who have an unshakeable trust in their children’s abilities even if they are not the abilities that are conventionally accepted. She has set an example for all the parents out there who want their children to be not only successful but also happy. So what if they scored a 60%? You have to celebrate the fact that they did get 60%! There’s no point in forcing your child to become something else when their true interests lie far away from what you expect from them.

There are parents who start sending their children to three or four different tutors after their school hours. Some of them even manage to attend coaching classes for college entrance examinations and they do it as early as in class 6^th or 7^th. This hardly leaves any time for your child to explore their true identity, talents, and interests. Instead of raising a new generation that needs to focus on their “priorities”, it’s time that we bring ourselves under the microscope. Let them choose their paths – you’re there to guide them and not plan their life. Kudos to Vandana who stirred a discussion that we are already lagging behind in.

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