Child Prodigies

Sachin recently completed 20 years in international cricket. He made his debut at the age of 16. Is it fair to subject a minor to the demands of international cricket? In his first Test series, he was hit by a Waqar bouncer on the nose. Thankfully, it wasn't serious, but if it was? Were his parents careless?

The other day I watched a news item on CNN IBN that showed a 9-year kid in Tamilnadu driving a car at speeds of 100 kmph. The incident took place sometime back, but only recently came to the attention of child rights activists, who vociferously and vehemently condemned the episode. It was sort of funny because the parents had spoken to the media after the incident and were proud of their child. Those clips were now being played with a child psychologist yelling her heart out on why such stunts are detrimental to the growth of kids.

For a moment, I was taken aback by the incident. The anchor wondered why parents were so enamored by records and went to such dangerous lengths. But full marks to the channel for presenting an alternative view. A certain gentleman named Hussaini, himself a stuntman, came on the show. Without beating around the bush, he said the act was justified if proper precautions and safety measures were taken. For good measure, he added that if we are not adventurous, we would never know the limits of human endurance. For example, how can we say that kids are not fit to drive? They are super comfortable with computers, then why not cars? Finally, and most logically, he pointed out that this was no different from teaching kids to swim at the age of 5 or enrolling them in tennis classes, which do have the risk of a child getting seriously injured.

In a few minutes, I took an about turn. Pushing children into music and sports as early as 3 is not only acceptable but is thought of as necessary if they have to get anywhere in life. Schoolkids are overloaded with study materials and tuitions in preparation for IITs. All of us has seen at least one kid that has lived up to the saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Can we wait until kids grow up and make their own choices? This is what happens in other developed countries where people try all sorts of things before even getting a college degree. But then we have too many hands chasing too little opportunities so to not do anything about a child's career appears unfair as well. I guess the line between guiding children towards their passions and thrusting our passions on them is thin. Very thin.