Children are NOT our Fixed Deposits

In the past week alone, we’ve lost too many young lives. Children who should have been laughing, learning, arguing, dreaming - all gone. It forces us to stop in our tracks and ask ourselves where are we going wrong? How are we still failing to see the storms our children are carrying quietly inside their minds and hearts? How are we ignoring the signs that they feel alone and need to be heard?

We need to look at the world we are creating around our children. The pressure does not just come from parents, but from everywhere around - the condo moms comparing marks like they compare recipes, from cousins competing as if childhood is a race, from social circles where a child’s score becomes casual gossip over chai. Why have we normalised turning children into talking points? Why must their achievements validate our pride? We need to stop this cycle asap as this silent, socially accepted pressure crushes young spirits long before they get a chance to grow. Our children deserve freedom from our expectations, not the burden of them.

Children are not our fixed deposits for the future. We cannot put the weight of our dreams on our children. Parenting cannot be transactional. "We did so much for you, now you have to do your best"/ Their worth cannot be measured in marks, medals, or milestones. Our expectations should never outweigh their emotional safety.

As parents, we must tell our children again and again that perfection is not the goal. That success is not the only path. That what matters is the courage to try, the resilience to stand up, and the freedom to move at a pace that they are comfortable with. 

It is okay to be imperfect.
It is okay to score badly.
It is okay to fail.
It is okay to
It is never okay for a child to feel unloved, unheard, or unseen.

We need to build homes where children can breathe. Where they can speak without fear, break down without shame, and grow without the crushing weight of expectations. Homes where they know deeply and unquestionably that their life is worth more than any dream we hold for them.

No rank, no report card, no ambition is worth a life.

Let us choose empathy over expectations.
Humanity over pressure.
Presence over perfection.

Every single time. Please. 

(Image generated using Gemini)