Recently, the list of top ten Hollywood movies for the year 2009 was released. It was interesting to note that most of them were sci-fi thrillers starring giant robots or animated characters (Transformers, Up, Avatar, Ice Age, Monsters vs. Aliens) besides a couple of teenager-starrers (Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga). Computerized effects clearly were the rule of entertainment.
But let’s not get this wrong. This does not mean no one is watching any meaningful cinema anymore. This only indicates that the ways have changed. Digitalized effects have ceased to be a specialty. Novelty in creation is what we all love now. In fact, high-tech apparitions of long ago have now become a reality. As parents of this generation of kids, we need to be more flexible and appreciative of modern likes and dislikes. If your children are talking about ‘Transformers’ or ‘Harry Potter’ all the time, don’t think you can divert them from those things just by asking them to focus harder on their academics. Those things are the reality of the present! In fact, the sooner we start taking interest in what these things are and what they mean to our kids, the better would it be for us to guide our kids properly.
Generation gap has always existed, there’s no doubt about that. However, the world has become very daring in stepping into newer territories. The more we explore, the more we learn and hence the more we change. The truth is that this is all happening at the speed of lightning. Since it is practically impossible to change ourselves so fast (and in fact, not even desirable!), the best we can do is to appreciate the change and see the positive in it.
Of course, there will be some negatives too. Positive and negative forces always go together. The same is true with the digitalized world of modern times. Our parenting touch should be, as usual, to guard our kids from the negative effects. It doesn’t mean that we disapprove of the modern ways altogether. It only means that we merge the old with the new, blend the past and the present with the future and open our doors for unimaginable realities to enter, because they are certainly here to stay!
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