Childhood is not preparation for life, childhood is life itself!

This quote from John A Taylor's "Notes on an Unhurried Journey" is one that we as parents and adults all have to take think deeply about. As parents, we are always trying to give the best to our children. The most nutritious food, the best education and the best of everything. Among these making sure they have the best education and ensure that they do very well in school is something that many parents wish for and from their children. Why do parents worry so much about school and especially about grades?

We have been trained from generation to generation to equal good grades and good examination results to be a must in order to achieve a successful life as adults.

So we work hard each and every minute of the day and try to drive our children to achieve the highest academic standards.

Rushing from school to tuition classes to sports practices and dance lessons sadly we forget that childhood is a time that should be enjoyed, by the child as well as by the parent.

The best gift parents get from children is not seeing them become successful adults. It is having the chance to witness and be part of their childhood. To enjoy the funny antics, the silly giggles and the little mischiefs that make you smile in secret. Their spontaneous hugs and kisses will be memories that we will treasure for life.

Not their grades or how well they did in sports but these little things. Please don't forget to enjoy these little things as parents.

By being part of the rat race created by our examination-oriented education system we as parents are losing out and missing the best time we can have as parents, and we are taking the right our children have to their childhood by making them work so hard so that their life would be better in future.

Let them relax, enjoy and have fun and they will have a good life now. And they discover the joy of discovering new things. They will explore and learn from the environment and the world around them We just need to be there to share in the experience and give a hand when needed.

John Dewey's educational philosophy also focused on a similar concept. Dewey's philosophy of education encouraged experiential learning. He stated that children learn from social experiences. And when given the opportunity to gain such experiences learning would inevitably take place.

We all need to rethink how we look at learning. Even if we cannot change the education system, we can still change how we approach education and learning as parents. And most often it is the expectations of parents that drive children towards rote learning in order to achieve good grades. In the same way, parents can influence children towards more productive and lifelong learning habits simply by giving them the freedom to enjoy life, explore and encourage the natural curiosity children have to discover and understand new things.

References

Taylor, J. (1993). Notes on an Unhurried Journey. Amsterdam University Press.