What’s better than good grades?

Recently, while getting my son to complete his homework I realised, rather, was struck with the realisation, that my son will soon be going to secondary school. Yes, I know there is one entire academic year to go for that, but it still got me worked up. While I was worrying about child one, another realisation struck, that child two will no longer be part of pre-primary schooling, but will be going to primary school from next academic year. My mommy worry-o-meter reached sky high levels.

Now you ask me why I am getting all strung up? That is because my son barely studies for half an hour a day, and that too just to complete some miniscule homework that his school gives him. The weekend homework he gets is also negligible. What worries me is if he is barely studying, how will he outshine the rest when it comes to claiming a seat when he reaches college?

As a parent, hope you are keeping track of the cut offs the college are coming up with. Even 100% is not good enough these days. That’s a far away scenario, I know, but then I don’t know where the cutoffs will reach by the time he gets there. And with no diligent studying, and bad handwriting to boot, how will he get there?

Then there are these external exams besides the school exams that I always insist he appear for as much as he hates to. Year on year he manages to get a two- or sometimes three-digit rank in these exams. But I haven’t given up hope even as my son hasn’t given up protesting.

Now to child two. She hates homework which again is hardly any work at all. She’d rather dance, go down to play, draw, and eat, whatever as long as she doesn’t have to write. The perennial complaint from her teachers have been she writes slowly, never completes class work, and that she’d rather talk than write. Whenever I have to attend her PTM, I end up saying a little prayer to god that the teacher has something better to say. My worry as a mom is what she will do when she reaches grade 1, and how she will cope with the rest.

Not that I am really losing my sleep over the two, but then I always envisage myself in the supermummy avatar (badly failing too), and hence I must strategise, arm my children with the best tools to just grow up to face their board exams with exemplary courage, get into the best colleges and have a dream career.

Ok, wait, does that include time out for creative growth, knowledge growth, personal growth, and all round growth in other activities? Well my question would be - do the schools/colleges that admit my children want to know that?

They only judge them by the numbers on their mark sheet. So should I not concentrate on the other stuff as a mother?

So I’d rather give up this supermummy tag since I am just going to let them be. Direct them the best way I can, guide them, discipline them and regulate their study time. Most importantly, be around in case they need any help. For me, a well-developed child in all areas is more important than the grades that he/she will get. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Till then I continue my mommy rant Mera beta padhai nahin karta… bada aadmi kaise banega?

Priyanka Chaturvedi is a media recruitment consultant, full-time mum, part-time social worker, voracious reader and a blogger