My Basket of Apples

My Basket of Apples..... I plucked apples ....red rosy,juicy apples.Priceless .I took great tender care looking after them. I protected them well. Suddenly I became busy for few days ....and forgot to keep an eye on them...... Some evil mind stealthily put a rotten apple in my basket..... I checked onto my Priced Apples..... They got rotten spoilt. As parents, we take utmost care of our kids with tender love and great affection. We keep them protected from external forces..... We try to teach them values.... But someday......they have to come to contact with outside world..... We as parents do make utmost efforts keep a vigilant eye.....and monitor them. Unfortunately, it does happen that they get into unhealthy company......or people of not good influence....... Especially the age of Adolescence and Youth...... A vulnerable age...... Drinking, Smoking, Drugs,Betting,Love, romance, casual sex,unhealthy habits, digital influence.......an endless list of distraction.......which influence them....... The hormone surge....entices them to Thrill and Adventurous ventures....acts or actions....which either harm or hurt or leaves an irreversible permanent impact on them......physically and mentally. Recently, the news showed headlines..... 2...... One had death of youth under influence of drugs and alcohol....died due to rash driving...... Another was horrific which led to National Uproar..... A 21yr old girl was stabbed to death in College Campus by her Spurned lover...... Facing rejection from girl....in outrage the boy stabbed the girl to death....in broad daylight in front of students in the College. Most of times.....the blame is on parents for Bad Parenting...... Is that the real reason for wayward behavior of any kid?????? Lack of teaching values,morals,....lack of monitoring.......Bad unhealthy Upbringing..... Violent, Abusive environment....... Are these " The Reason" for a kid sucked into actions and activities....termed immoral....unhealthy.....Abusive.....aggressive.....by the Society...... Sometimes on the wrong side of law...... As Parent, I feel my kids are those priceless apples which I nurture and protect in my basket ....from untoward harm or influence.... Every parent does that...... But at times.....unexpectedly.....such alarming ,out of box incidents do happen..... Situations most times do come into control by Love,affection and education...... But destiny does play games..... Unfortunately, the dear parents lost their kids in above incidents...... Can we avoid????? Maybe......maybe not.... Dear Kids, The age makes you want to try something as Thrill,Adventure, Peer Pressure. But before you succumb to the urge.....think about your parents. Try not to indulge in actions or activities which will hurt you and your parents also. Remember you are that Priced Apple of your Parents....... Dear Parents, Parenting never ends.....we are responsible as parents throughout....... There is no good or bad parenting. So Don't blame yourself. Freedom must be given to kids. But with Freedom comes Responsibility. Every action or decision a kid makes....he/ she must be taught to be Accountable. Apart from values,education, knowledge.....kids must be taught to face and accept rejection and failures.....especially our Boys..... Respect to others- Gender,color,age,status, class,creed.....animals, plants.... Focus and Prioritize..... Better be safe....than suffer.. Better be cautious than repent...... Actions or decisions made in anger is detrimental to us and others..... Actions carried out due to emotions or pressures are always repented...... Workshops need to be conducted for adolescents and youth....to guide them in these matters.... Documentaries, Movies,Reels....Social Media....must contribute in communicating all these to kids..... Stringent rules and regulations....against defaulters and bad influencers is necessary by Law and Order. Strict Punishment to criminal actions is required. Injustice should be dealt with strong gloves....... Let's strive to keep that Basket of our Priceless Apples safe and protected from Rotten Apples...... By Dr Tripti Milind Galgali Hubli