Gen alpha’s full of super kids-Archana

Jack of all trades, master of none' is an adage of yore. Today it's all about putting your finger in every pie and getting to taste the best of everything. Perhaps that explains why parents these days chalk out busy schedules for their tiny tots who are expected to know a bit of everything.

Wanting the best for your child is not new. but these new age parents have a whole new list of 'in' things that are must-dos for their kiddos. The hottest activities that kids are big time into are ballet, western music, Bollwood dances, chess, karate, football, tennis and gymnastics. Apart from these, there are literary activities like reading classes, diction classes, theatre workshops, art appreciation courses et al that are extremely popular with parents because most of them believe that at a young age, children can grasp things better.

Explaining the whole process of making superkids out of toddlers, TV anchor Pooja Bedi says, "Both my children are extremely talented and multi-faceted. Thus, the need to send them to all the classes they want to attend." Asked to elaborate, Pooja gives a long list of activites with an infectious enthusiasm in a single breath. "They go for swimming classes and are the fastest in their age-group. My daughter Aaliya is creatively inclined so she signed up for an art class. She gets an A+ always. She is also into gymnastics. My son, Omar, goes for chess classes and is superb in it. Though Aaliya is a fast reader, Omar being just six, has to learn to read faster. The faster you read, the better you learn. So I signed him up for a reading class where he gets to read fun stuff. He is also into athletics and painting." Phew!

Well, that's the difference between Gen Alpha and children of an earlier generation. Every tiny tot is trained to be a wonder kid in his own right, managing academics and extra-curricular activities with equal ease. But don't they have just too much on their little plates? "Not necessarily," says model Aditi Gowitrikar. "As a mother, I know what my daughter wants to do. Nothing is really forced on her."

But there are those like Archana Puran Singh, who confess that they are from the old school of thought. She says, "I want my children to have the kind of childhood I had — not a care in the world, and nothing to do. Parents these days think they were not put into these classes because their parents did not have the funds to do so. Now that they have the money, they want to live their dreams through their children.

Then there are others who just think it's a cool thing to do. But I think it's too stressful for the children. At 10 and seven, my kids don't know what they want they want to focus on. But that doesn't mean I put them in 20 different courses so they can choose. I don't want to push them into a structured life so early. We need to give children the right to choose so that they can make the right decisions."

However, some parents feel kids are so full of energy that they need to channelise it the right way. Says Deepika Gehani, designer, "My kids are into ballet, tennis, karate and chess. I don't think it's stressful at all. kids are more hyper these days than they were before. These classes help them focus on constructive things rather that just sitting in front of the television."