Do AC schools make kids delicate little angels and sturdy enough?

I am part of a few forums and in one of these an interesting discussion was taking place. This particular forum caters to parents focussed on the schooling and upbringing of their kids. One member invited views from fellow members by posing a question: “Do you take that AC schools make kids a delicate little angel and not sturdy rough tough?” I would like to reproduce my and one of my fellow member’s views on the same over here.

Although all replies were in the positive with parents agreeing that AC school culture does make a child dependent on these luxuries (nowadays termed as necessities). One good answer came from a member called Anita* who commented:

“I agree with Vinod* when he says that if we provide these facilities they would become necessity and not luxury. Moreover, luxury should be earned by oneself rather than enjoyed at the expense of another, and then only one can understand the value of that 'luxury'.

If we don't expose our child to the harsh realities, be it weather or practical world, but cocooned in the protective environ, then I am sure they will grow up with the fear of not living without them rather than take challenge and risk in life to achieve greater heights.

I second Sushant* that we should better utilize our resources on giving wide and varying knowledge and experience to our children instead of fruitless luxury.”

My reply to the issue was as follows:

I second Anita but I also believe that the same applies to home. We have homes where kids sit all day with ACs switched on, they do nothing except watching TVs, playing on computers and playstations. If our kids go to schools, markets or anywhere else, they travel in cars with their ACs switched on. Working parents holding guilt in their hearts for not being able to spend time with the kids, wash off their guilt by pampering their kids and fulfilling all their whims and fancies so much so that the kids don't even learn to take a "NO" for an answer. School kids these days have flashy laptops and mobiles. Teenagers spend lavishly on pubs, nightclubs and discos.

Gone are the days when kids were encouraged to go to the market and buy small things on their own (although some parents chose to watch them from a distance, like mine), walk to the tuitions/friends' homes. The summer vacations used to be full of kids with their bicycles, badminton rackets, cricket bats scattered over every by-lane in the city. TV was restricted to 3-4 hours in a day (and surprisingly no child-locks in the TV were necessitated). Books used to be our best friends and authors like Enid Blyton, Ruskin Bond and Edward Stratemeyer (remember Nancy Drew) were household names, and unlike JK Rowling, they did not discuss teenage romance, first crushes and first kisses in their books.

I myself belong to a family where we were encouraged to take up these activities despite a lack of formal sports education in school. Even otherwise, my school (St. Thomas' School) believed that all human beings are equal no matter what work they do and they tried to inculcate the philosophy in the kids in a no. of ways. So even though there were fourth class staff aplenty in school, the kids had to dust and sweep their classrooms themselves turn-by-turn.

I think with AC schools mushrooming everywhere and parents having a "luxury turning to comforts turning to necessity" approach in their lives we are losing touch with our base/roots where we have grown up as individuals fit enough to face the fierce competitive world ahead.

Then again someone asked me whether it’s not necessary to change with changing times to which I replied:

I agree that we have to change with changing times but it is also essential that we retain the positive points from the era gone by. Comforts should be taken as comforts and should not be mitigated for necessities.

The activities that we have taken up during our childhood like cycling, badminton, reading books have made us active and socially aware persons that we are today. And I would like to see my daughter excel over me. If Noddy cartoons are substituting for Noddy books, my purpose is defeated.

Technology should be embraced, globalisation acknowledged and accepted but all said and done, the kids need to be self-confident and independent when they grow up. These qualities are inculcated in childhood from minor things like encouraging the kids to go buy small items from shops and talk to the shopkeeper themselves, buying metro/movie tickets themselves, etc. By encouraging the kids to walk to the market you make them capable of handling emergency situations where god forbid maybe no mode of conveyance is available. If he/she is self-confident, he/she can manage to get a public conveyance, find a way home even. Of course, I am not referring to the infants, but the process has to start right from the beginning itself. When they are older, they may venture out of homes for further education/careers where they have to live in hostels and/or PG arrangements. How does one ensure that these comforts will always be available to them. My sister is doing MBBS and lives in a hostel without airconditioners/coolers and refrigerators. I myself am a professional who have to visit clients and am totally aware that these comforts cannot be provided in all companies where we may have to work. If they are there, good, if not, it doesn't matter. And we are thankful to our parents that they have taught us to deal with such situations.

Although my daughter goes to an AC playschool, the fact that the school was an AC was not the basis for my selection. I selected it for the sole reason that I found the environment and course curriculum better than other playschools in my area. Then again, I make sure that my daughter does not switch on the AC at home during the day. It is allowed only at bedtime. This is to ensure that comfort remains a comfort.

* names changed.