Don't impose your dreams on children, PM tells parents

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday gave a pep talk to schoolchildren and suggested parents not to impose their dreams on their wards, saying: “My parents would have celebrated if I had become even a clerk.”

During an interaction with schoolchildren on the eve of Teachers’ Day, he advised the students to take the “right approach” towards their future and choose a career based on their interest. He also gave them tips on public speaking, leadership and even politics while replying to their questions.

“Parents should not impose their dreams on their children. If you (parents) do this, it means you do not know your children. A father is so busy he is not even aware of the class in which his child is. Spend some time with your children and ask them what they want to do. Children will achieve success only if you help them,” he said in reply to Anamika Dubey, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Janakpuri, Delhi, who had asked the prime minister for suggestions on how children should make their parents understand not to force their ambitions on them.

Modi’s hour-long address and subsequent interaction at the Manekshaw Auditorium, was attended by some 800 students and 60 teachers from various schools in Delhi. The prime minister also interacted with students from nine states through video-conferencing while the entire event was televised live and webcast.