3 Feb 10, Wednesday: Mumbai Mirror, Wednesday, 3 Feb 10: page 6 – “Forced into subject he disliked, Thane teen stages own ‘kidnap’”

Parents of the 15-year old boy, who faked his own kidnapping to escape an education where he lacked interest, should be thankful that their child did not resort to suicide as most others in the past have.
Having said that, what this teen did was irresponsible and equally and reckless; however, I’d like to focus here on the dire desperation that would lead a 15-year old to take such a crazy measure.   
Parents have to ask themselves whether their children’s choice of career be based on the child’s aptitude, talent and liking or should it be driven by the parents’ aspiration.
At the end of the day, this child will spend the maximum time of the best years of his life at work; don’t we want him to be a happy working person?
It is a proven fact that of we like what we are doing, we will excel at it, hence a career which is based on talent and liking becomes a passion and not a life-long drudgery.  Lack of job satisfaction today is one the major causes of depression amongst professionals and when we think about it, most of these cases could have easily been avoided had the youngster been given a choice to make his own informed decision.

We have to stop seeing children as our possessions and give them the freedom to choose their path; kids are from us and not for us and as parents it is our duty to give them unconditional love and support so that each one of these buds have a fair chance at becoming the flower that they are destined to be.