How Technology Proved To Be A Game Changer In My Parenting Journey
WhatsApp Groups: A Modern Parents Life line
It was late in the night, and Priya realized that she had forgotten to call up her daughter’s school to inquire about items to be brought for the class project the next day.
However, she was not worried, as she knew that she could post her query on the class mom’s WhatsApp group and get her answers.
This is how technology has come to our rescue in far more ways than we could have imagined.
In this digital age, from simple everyday problems to mammoth ones, everything comes under the radar of technology.
We are living in an era where we are fortunate to have easy access to social media platforms, like, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
I give a huge thumbs up to WhatsApp for making it possible for us to remain connected with our family and friends even without physical proximity, thereby making our lives so much easier.
Aren’t we all experts in forming Whatsapp groups in a jiffy? Be it school and college friends, all types of family and relatives groups, or work groups.
From my experience, the most beneficial, is perhaps the parents WhatsApp group for school children, which I too am a part of. Apart from the advantage of getting quick answers to your queries, and a means for information sharing (you’ll find some proactive parents sharing vital information the minute they receive it) , they also help you make friends.
Here are some examples of conversations in such groups :
“Hey, can anyone please share the unit test timetable, I seem to have missed the mail.” And I bet the responses are immediate.
“My son has misplaced his Chemistry textbook, please check if anyone has a duplicate?”
Even if there are bigger issues, parents come together to resolve them.
Exorbitant Fee Hike By An Excellent School
This school consistently increased the fee every year, which didn’t go well with parents. And this is how the conversation among parents on the group ensued,
“The school has sent a mail regarding the payment of book and stationery fees. Haven’t we already paid? Wasn’t it included in the term fees?!!
“As it is, they’ve already hiked the school fees. This is ridiculous !! “
After an affirmation by others, a collective response was, "Let’s go to school together and inquire. How many of you can join tomorrow at 11 am?
Some of us went to the school the next day and were able to put forth our concerns to the school authorities. It did make a difference!
Isn’t it evident that such WhatsApp groups act as a great moral support system, where issues can be resolved quickly?
Though a separate topic, which I will write about in another blog — some parents decided to change the school of their wards early on (example of authoritarian parenting). While others continued, under pressure from their children, who had made close friends, had a great camaraderie with the teachers, and found the environment very comfortable (example of permissive parenting).
