People parent their kids in different ways, and kids these days are also a different breed than the previous generation. I’m not sure what’s right or wrong in these matters but just wanted to see what everyone thinks.
I know this young kid, he is like about 10, half Pakistani half white. He goes to pimary school here. He, his mom, and I went out to dinner to a Pakistani restaurant and he was not eating much at all. After eating very little he was like ‘No, I’m full’, and when we insisted to him to eat some more he was like ‘I’m becoming fat…Pakistani food is too greasy’…He was raising his shirt and showing us his tummy and we were like you are not fat (he is super thin actually, like underweight) but then he was poking his fingers into his tummy n leg muscles and saying ‘No, look this is fat’…! And we were like no this is muscle and he totally dint believe us…his mom was later telling me that he avoids candy and pizza and burgers and exericses a lot so he doesnt become fat. She was telling me that most of the kids in his class also think like that! And they are like only 10! I was hecka surprised!
Then I know this lady back home in Pak, she doesn’t let her 7 yr old son go out during the day time except for school coz he will get dark! Her daughters are like around 5 now, and she puts fair and lovely on their faces every day and lectures them all the time on how not to play in the sun etc etc!
We were telling her that kids should be kids and putting these kind of ideas in their minds are not good, they should just be free and uninhibited…But according to her she is just being a good mother.
In our own childhood we never even thought or realised these things…I don’t know about boys but I think we girls became appearance concious only after like 9th grade or so…tab tak toh hum ko in cheeson ka hosh hi naheen tha bilkul. We used to eat whatever we wanted to and play in the sun as much as we wanted to, these ideas just never crossed our mind…
It seems like aaj kal bachay bohot jaldi hi baray ho jatay haen aur parents ka un kee parwarish kerne ka andaaz bhee bohot badalta ja rha hae…I dont know if these trends or positive or negative I guess just different…But I don’t like the idea of a small kid not even eating properly coz he might get fat or not playing in the sun coz he might get dark!
inshAllah,we’ll meet this year,we have to!!!
yaar woh,us kay tu bohat oonchay eraadey hain, bakol us kay ussay pakistani larkyaan pasand hi nahi,ooper say he doesnt even want british or dutch…american girl ki rat lagai rakhta hay:hehe:
Irem yaar :D that sounds soo much like Yemeni but not the food part, b/c they are soo damn thin :D however lots of Yemenis tell there kids not to stay too long in the sun b/c they will get dark and etc..... :D its kinda funny really. B/c I know other Arabs who go tanning all the time to get dark and Yemenis want to be light, its really wierd.
irem: That auntie ka bacha prolly is suffering from a beemari (jis ka angrezi naam main conveniently bhool gaya hoon) jis main insaan apne aap ko mota samajhta hai
@ the other fair-and lovely wali auntie..tobah hai!
bachay bare to usi speed se ho rahe hain laikin info explosion thru various media ki waja se zara jaldi se achi buri cheezon ka asar qubool kar rahe hain. Wallah-o-alam
waisay jaisa bachpan hum ne guzara hai..us main to jab hum ko chot lagti thi to koi peeth ke peeche zor se taali baja kar kehta tha: Woh dekho…choonti (jis ne tumhain kaata tha..woh mar gai)
..aur hum hansi khushi yaqeen bhi kar lete they. now that’s innocence..haina? :halo:
My parents, living abroad, did not allow us to have lots of friends. We could have friends but only uptil school timings. Phone calls were not appreciated nor were we allowed to go over to their places.
For special school assignment/projects, they could come over and some time could be spent.
But it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. We would have weekly gatherings with the desi families and we would meet up and enjoy with their kids a bit.
My parents would spend quality time with us wiht family activities like cards, board games, table tennis, dramas, etc, etc.
After highschool graduation, I was told that I was old enough to make decisions for myself and that now I could choose my friends and how I spend time with them.
Since then, I haven’t been checked upon.
Now that I look around and see other kids, I realize that what seemed like strictness back then, was just a way to have us keep our focus (education) in line. I’m glad they brought us up the way they did.
i have a 2 1/2 year old daughter, and i try very hard that she dosent become " waqt say pehlay pakee hui bachi" i was a total tom boy, and i did’nt even know how a baby was born until i was in my collage, but i dont know how i am going to prevent my daughter from being exposed to all that western crap:teary1:
dekho…
@ the other fair-and lovely wali auntie..tobah hai! 
now that’s innocence..haina? :halo: