DEAR parents, guardians, esteemed industrialists, and, yesyou sneaky tuition-loving teachers, today marks a sacred day on the calendar of every school-going child: the end of the school term and the beginning of the glorious December holidays!
It’s time for textbooks to gather dust, school uniforms to mysteriously shrink (blame the holiday snacks) and children to remind us why they are both a blessing and a source of endless noise.
Parents, let’s talk. Your kids have just survived the trenches of term exams, endless lessons and in some cases, that one teacher who believes homework is a form of love. Please, do not morph into taskmasters now!
The temptation to turn your child into your unpaid assistant manager at the family shop or your personal lawnmower technician may be strong—but resist!
Let them rest, play and indulge in the fine art of being children. They are not there to roast peanuts for your roadside business or haul cement for your construction site. Child labour is not only illegal but also unnecessary.
If you desperately need help, recruit your neighbour (who will at least bear with your compromised meagre payment, if it is the case) Ah, dear teachers.
You’ve done well this term, imparting knowledge, discipline and perhaps the occasional confusing math formula. But now, it’s time to step back.
The holidays are not an opportunity to rebrand the classroom as Holiday Package Academy Extra.
That “special tuition” you’re proposing is neither special nor necessary. Let the kids rest and let parents save their hard-earned money for Christmas chicken, not more chalkboard scribblings.
Remember, the holidays are for kids to decompress, bond with their families and ponder life’s great mysteries, like how Santa fits down the chimney or why grandma’s rice always tastes better. To the general public and industrialists, we see you.
You love employing “short-statured, high-energy” temporary workers in the guise of helping them earn pocket money. Kindly stop it. Invest in machines or hire adults who won’t call in sick because their favourite cartoon is airing. To the rest of the public: lend a hand in protecting our future leaders.
If you see kids working during this holiday, ask questions. Their job should be perfecting their bike-riding skills, not running errands for the local bar owner. Let this holiday season be a time for joy, rest and family bonding.
Let our children play, explore and recharge. Parents, put the chores on hold; teachers, shelve the extra classes; and industrialists, find alternatives. Remember, happy children make a happy nation—or at least fewer tantrums during family gatherings. Here’s to a safe and cheerful December break!
