Salina Bhuju, 21, a second year BBA student at Apex College, Baneshwar shares, “Our parents sometimes fail to understand that they are too protective about us. They expect us to come home early, even if we are at safe places with our friends,” adding, “They don’t understand that studies is not everything and that they should let us explore in order to become open-minded.” [break]
However, she loves spending time with her parents too. She finds it interesting to listen to stories of her parents’ good old days. The interesting and humorous incidences amuse her a lot.
“In the same way, I also like sharing my own stories. I talk to them about my best friends and my teachers,” she says.
Likewise, Devendra Gurung, 62, a father of three children, shares that there aren’t much things his children love doing together with the parents. However, they enjoy travelling. He shares, “My children love picnics. I take them to religious places. It becomes a pilgrimage for me and my wife while a weekend getaway for the children.”
“Our parents aren’t as inclined to the use of technology as we are. It also creates a sort of gap between our generations. They think I’m wasting time if I spend too much time surfing the internet. But I guess that’s how people of today’s generation learn,” shares Supriya Chitrakar, a third year student at St Xavier’s College, Maitighar. “However, to cope with this, maybe we could convince them about the importance of technology so that they don’t feel that we’re being disobedient,” she opines.
Despite the differences, there are things she enjoys doing with her parents to have fun together. She loves watching movies and family shows on TV, and goes swimming with her mother. Indoor games like chess and carrom-boards are also on her things-to-do-with-parents list.
In the same context, Rishav Aryal, 23, an engineer at Sanima Hydro and Engineering Pvt Ltd shares, “We know so much about the latest technologies, but our parents don’t understand much. However, we can always teach simple ones to them. I believe that the parents should also be willing to try to learn those at least.”
Also, with so many years of experience, elders have the skills and knowledge regarding various other things. Some may be art experts and politically much more informed, while some may have the skills required for knitting, weaving or cooking. The youths can always learn these skills if interested. “Amongst scores of other things, I learnt how to ride a motorcycle from my dad,” shares Rishav.
And most importantly, one should not forget that in order to be able to bridge the ‘generation gap’, communication is very necessary. There should be interaction among every person in the family. The elders should understand their children to truly be able to love them and be loved in return, even though the ways of thinking may differ completely. Rudeness and emotional blackmailing will only widen the gap.
Jeebika Adhikary, 20, an architecture student at Khwopa Engineering College, Bhaktapur says, “Parents should try to be understanding. They should not be too strict. If they are flexible enough, we can treat them like our friends and talk about anything that is bothering us.”
Similarly, the children should reciprocate by respecting their elders. It’s not possible to bring about changes in the core beliefs of the elders, but trying to talk about something you don’t like is worth a chance. But maintaining politeness is a must.
Bishnu Gopal Risal, 79, opines, “Our children and grandchildren are brought up in different environments. We send them to schools and colleges where they learn so many new things. This way, they don’t get to spend much time with us and when we finally do get to spend time with them, the difference in the perspectives we hold become apparent. But as elders, we should try to understand their psychology and behave accordingly.” Among other things, he expects his descendants to join him in the worships at least once a day.
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