Last weekend, my little one used ChatGPT to learn how
to fold his clothes. I was bewildered of the idea of that my eight years old used
ChatGPT and self-taught him on how to do things. I felt ancient history. Our
world existed with black & white TV set, a phone almost as big as tablet, mounted
on the wall, and certainly a virtual world didn’t exist, where majority of our time
was spent communicating with actual people than with different devices. I must
say I miss the world I grew up.
Our children live in a different world, a world that
is constantly changing, almost to a point where you feel like time is slipping
every second away with new technological advancement more profoundly. A new world
where social medias are dictating to shape peoples’ lives, sinking them with
anxieties and depression. Neighbor next door is a total stranger to you. Diseases
and illnesses are existing that we never heard or known before. More a less, we are living today in a world
saturated with humanly created problems: drug, crime, lack of safety and environmental
problems, and I think you get the idea! Our children have a different world to
navigate. I do acknowledge that I try to be careful not to parent as if they
are still living in my world. They need a different skillset than mine to adapt
to live in their world.
As a parent, and as a first-generation Nepalese
American, it’s important for me to hold on to my roots, my indigenousness and my
upbringings. For instance, I hold onto eating together as a family at the
dinner table, every night is a must and important. And that I must pass on to
my kids so they understand when they grow up someday knowing who their exact
roots were, and proud of their culture, understand meaning of love, respect and
togetherness, and how to be strong. Hope someday sharing their stories will fill
their hearts with happy childhood memories. And someday our children will carry
on our legacy of strength and pride even though it was a difficult journey for many
immigrants, like us, to get to this place from where we started.
Until then, let’s give them time and space to figure
out their world. Their world is more complex; therefore, we need to be compassionate
and not judgmental. Let’s help them build the skills they need to succeed in
their world tomorrow. Beyond academics, let’s teach them how to have empathy
for individuals from different backgrounds or skin colors, how to be kind to
one another, how to follow their heart & lead with courage in uncertain times;
how to standup for what is right, how to rise again after failure. Life is not
always about winning. For most part, let’s teach them to accept and acknowledge
life is far from perfect, and learn to fully embrace both its beauty and weakness,
and learn how to live splendidly in both ways. Let’s help them to see their wondrous
world more humanely, where joy, curiosity and creativity lie and live in their
hearts and mind.
"It is not the strongest of the
species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to
change." ~ Charles Darwin
