A Balanced Approach: The author shares her personal experience of making learning practical and stress-free. She highlights the importance of avoiding comparisons and treating mistakes as a natural part of the learning process.

By Ms Prabhjot Kaur · Mother of Shauryavir Thakar

🌱Balancing Parenting: Guidance, Support, and Emotional Growth

Children are like kites. Parents hold the string tightly enough to guide them, yet gently enough to let them fly.

Parenting is one of the most beautiful yet challenging responsibilities in life. Every parent dream of seeing their child successful, confident, and happy. In today’s competitive world, many parents become highly goal-oriented, focusing mainly on marks, achievements and performance. At the same time, some parents believe in supporting and nurturing their child emotionally, helping them grow at their own pace. As a teacher and a mother, I strongly feel that children need both guidance and emotional support to truly flourish.

👦A Personal Journey as a Mother and Teacher

Being the mother of Shauryavir, a seven-year-old student at Salwan Junior School, I have learned that parenting is not only about setting goals for children but also about understanding their feelings, strengths, and interests. Children perform their best when they know that their parents stand beside them, not just behind them with expectations.

Two Parenting Styles in Today’s World

As a teacher and a mother, I often observe two different parenting styles in today’s world — supportive parenting and goal-oriented parenting. While both come from love and concern for a child’s future, the difference lies in the approach. Some parents focus mainly on achievements, marks, competitions, and performance. Others focus on understanding the child, encouraging efforts, and building confidence. Children need a healthy balance of both.

Like every parent, I want my son to succeed in life, but I have also realized that success cannot grow under pressure alone. A child blooms when supported with patience, love, and guidance.

The Impact of Goal-Oriented Parenting

In many homes today, children are surrounded by targets - scoring high marks, learning multiple skills, winning competitions, and always being ahead. Goal-oriented parenting helps children become disciplined and focused. It teaches them the importance of hard work and dedication. However, when goals become more important than the child’s happiness and emotional well-being, children may begin to feel stressed and fearful of failure.

The Importance of Supportive Parenting

On the other hand, supportive parenting creates an environment where children feel safe to express themselves. A supportive parent listens, motivates, and appreciates effort rather than only results. Such children develop confidence, emotional strength, and a positive attitude towards learning.

As a teacher, I have seen students who score well but are afraid of making mistakes. I have also seen children who may not always come first but participate confidently, ask questions freely, and enjoy learning. This difference often comes from the atmosphere at home.

A Balanced Approach as a Parent

With Shauryavir, I try to follow a balanced approach. I support him in his studies, but I also encourage him to enjoy the learning process. If he struggles with a difficult topic, I do not compare him with others. Instead, I sit with him patiently and explain concepts through examples, stories, and activities. Sometimes we revise lessons through games or simple conversations instead of forcing long study hours.

For example, while helping him learn English grammar, I encourage him to create his own sentences from daily life situations. During EVS lessons, we discuss plants, animals, and family relationships around us so learning becomes practical and interesting. When he performs well, I appreciate his effort. When he makes mistakes, I remind him that mistakes are a part of learning.

Life Skills and Holistic Development

Along with academics, I also believe that vocational and life skills are equally important for a child’s overall development. I encourage Shauryavir to participate in small household activities so that he learns responsibility and independence from an early age.

He happily helps in cleaning the house by arranging his toys, organizing books, and keeping his study area neat and tidy. Sometimes, he also enjoys helping me in the kitchen with simple tasks like mixing ingredients, setting the table, or helping in baking activities. These small experiences not only teach him practical life skills but also make him more confident, responsible, and cooperative. As a mother and teacher, I feel that such activities help children become self-reliant and understand the value of contributing to family life.

Raising Balanced Individuals

As both a teacher and a mother, I strongly believe that parenting is not about creating perfect children; it is about raising confident, kind, and emotionally strong individuals. Goals are important, but a child’s mental happiness, self-esteem, and love for learning are equally important.

In the end, the best parent is not only goal-oriented or only supportive, but someone who knows when to encourage, when to guide, and when to simply hold the child’s hand and say, “I am always with you.”

Every child blooms at a different pace. A parent’s job is not to force the flower to grow, but to nurture it with love, patience, and belief.