Quiet Phoenix 2: From Failure to Fulfilment: A Memoir of an Introverted Child by Prasenjeet Kumar

Author:Prasenjeet Kumar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: introvert quiet, introverted children, introvert social, quiet power, quiet kids, memoirs for teens, biography for teens, biography for kids 9-12, emotions for kids, parenting books best sellers, self esteem for kids and teens, quiet strength, introvert advantage, introvert strength, introvert extrovert, introvert power, books on introversion, Highly Sensitive Children, parenting guide
Publisher: Publish With Prasen
Published: 2015-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4: Discussing Complex Issues with Your Quiet Child

Superman was my favourite animation or movie character when I was about 5. I loved how Clarke Kent could simply fly and do all kinds of superhuman activities by just changing his clothes. I used to think that I could also be like Superman if I could simply don his tight dress.

“I just need a cape and I could fly” my five year old brain used to tell me.

My parents were naturally alarmed when they learnt of my “theory”. Superman buffs themselves, they explained to me first, all those complicated facts about Superman’s origins that enabled him to fly.

Next, they proved to me the uselessness of a cape by tying up a handkerchief around the neck of a plastic doll and letting her “jump off” our balcony’s ledge, something which I was itching to do soon.

The doll’s miserable drop to the ground with a thud taught me not only the uselessness of the cape for anyone who was not from Krypton but also about the powers of gravity that I have never forgotten. I believed my parents because what they said sounded real and convincing. And I never thereafter tried to pull any stunt wearing a Superman’s cape.

In this chapter, we are going to discuss how you as a parent can talk to your children about complex and sensitive issues including drug addiction, child molestation and other illegal activities.

You are not wrong in being concerned about your child.

What if your child tries drugs under peer pressure?

What if a child molester on the streets or in your child’s school sexually abuses your child?

You are not being paranoid if you have ever fretted about these “accidents”. Nor are you being overprotective as is the common allegation levelled against parents.

The sad truth is that you just cannot be there, everywhere to protect your child.

But you can certainly teach your child about these issues so that she can be on her guard from a very early age.

How is that possible, you might ask.

So, let’s begin.

Issue of Drug Addiction

I have already mentioned that my mother was the nodal officer in the Government of India for demand reduction in drug abuse and alcoholism. In the early 90s, she had visited the United States for a UN Conference on Prevention of Drug Abuse in School Children.

As you can make out from the name, the conference was about the issue of drug addiction in children under the age of 10 years. There were some case studies involving such children in Baltimore. Most came from broken homes where their parents were themselves alcoholics or drug addicts. Pictures were shown of children who had literally punctured their veins hundreds of times to inject drugs. The scars shown on their arms were horrifying.

The discussions then quickly moved on to how children coming from normal urban families were turning to drugs. Some children experimented with drugs under peer pressure. Some were approached by drug sellers promising them the most pleasurable experience of their lives by consuming that “sugar type substance”.

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