Monday, March 17, 2014

Indian vs. American Kids

I've heard a lot of differing opinions on this post, so thought of putting a Disclaimer: This post almost exclusively describes the behavior of kids whose parents are from India, but the kids themselves have been born and brought up in the US of A! Also, this is my personal opinion based on my observations and in no way a generalization!!

I've been on Spring Break for the last 2 weeks. Before the start of my vacations, I made many plans to visit new places in and outside US, and explore. But, similar to any other American grad student living on limited budget and under the shadow of huge student loans, I ended up spending Spring Break at my relatives' place in Cleveland and New Jersey, catching up on movies and Grey's Anatomy episodes, and barely stepping out of the house. However, it was not a complete waste. I observed the daily workings of a typical American household and compared it to an Indian household. I also got a good look at the behavior and etiquette of American kids and yes, again compared it with the behavior of kids back in my homeland.

Before I go into the details, I want everyone who has been brought up in India to thank their parents for the "sanskaars" and values they've instilled in us. We should be proud of all the manners that are a part of the Indian culture and we've been taught by our family members.

When I see the way kids in the US behave with their parents, their teachers, guests who visit their home or just about anyone elder to them, I'm amazed at the lack of respect and in some cases, civility. Here is a list of a few traits that are common across most of the children born and brought up in the US (if you're aware of the number of relatives I have in this country, you'll understand that my sample size is quite large):

Disrespectful - As I've already mentioned above, this is the one thing that is common to all the kids here. They don't respect the elders in they way we do in India. I understand there's a major cultural difference between the two countries, but this is something that should not be affected by cultures. Respecting elders should be taught to every kid irrespective of the country they live in.

Indifferent - This is another thing I've observed that the American kids are very indifferent to the emotions, needs, and preferences of others. For them, it's all about I, Me, and Myself. Everything they want, everything they do/don't do is purely for themselves.This could also be called Selfish behavior, which is another terminology I agree with.

Money-minded - Kids here are completely fine with spending their parents' money without a care in the world, but ask them to shell out a penny from their own pocket and they'll think a thousand times. I'm not saying that kids in India don't do that. I am guilty of that too, but then I think equally hard before spending my parents' hard earned money too. But here, kids don't think at all before making huge demands to their parents and expect them to be met immediately.

Inflexible - American kids are not willing to compromise on pretty much anything. They want all their demands to be met, exactly the way they want it, with immediate effect. On the other hand, I find Indian kids to be quite flexible and accommodating. This again stems from the fact that we've been taught to take into account everyone's opinions and feelings before making a decision or before demanding something. But in the US, it all me, me, and me.

These area few glaring differences that I found in Indian and American kids. There are a lot many subtle differences, which are hard to explain and write about. I agree most of these are due to the differences in culture and the bringing up of children in the two countries, and I'm also not trying to be critical. It's just an insight into the contrast of values and the basic moral teachings of two cultures.

Just a last piece of advice before signing off: All you Indians, if in future your parents accuse you of being disrespectful, lazy, or argumentative, just send them to spend a week with American kids. I'm pretty sure you'll be the angels of their eyes after that one week. I'm surely gonna try that in the future.

Signing Out,

Ciao! 

2 comments:

  1. You blogged after a while, didn't you! I have heard of this horror story quite a few times. The worst part is Indians who have been bought up with all sanskars forget and bring up their children in this American way. Come back fast before you are converted! :D

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  2. Aastha, I loved the advice ;)

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