Rajesh Kumar: Today’s style of parenting is scary

With his endearing roles in Baa Bahu Aur Baby and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai Rajesh Kumar wormed his way into the audiencersquos hearts Off screen he is equally endearing as he takes the time to ask this writer about her day before getting into interview mode The actor is back with the second instalment of TVFrsquos Yeh Meri Family Kumar who plays a reserved father in the Amazon miniTV series set in the rsquo90s talks about the different parenting styles of the generations and his learnings from the showEdited excerpts from the interviewYou play a reticent father in Yeh Meri Family How do you relate to a fatherdaughter relationshipI have seen my father have an awkward relationship with my sisters where he is more protective about them and trying to get them married at an early age I think rsquo90s fathers were like that because they just wanted to get over with the responsibility There was never too much of a conversation between daughters and fathers at least in my family They all were there for each otherrsquos happiness but the girls were closer to their mother So this awkward relationship where they barely talk as shown in Yeh Meri Family came easy and naturally to meWhat about the rsquo90s did the show remind you ofIt reminded me of everything mdash from the values to the fact that we never got bored or sat idle Either we were reading comic books or playing games Nowadays kids are enrolled in drawing guitar swimming classes one after the other Back in the day we didnrsquot go for so many classes If a kid was sent to drawing classes no one cared whether she could draw The parentsrsquo motivation was not that the kids will be in front of the TV or phone instead letrsquos enrol them in classes I never saw parents under pressure to take care of the childDo you think parenting was easier back in the dayWe never took up parenting as a challenge This generation is taking it too seriously They are trying to do everything through the kids that they couldnrsquot They are forcing too much on their kids who are becoming more dependent All parents need to do is maintain a balance but do not keep holding their hand The kids should be made aware that they can fly Todayrsquos style of parenting is scary Sometimes itrsquos difficult to understand if they are talking about their kids or petsDid you learn any parenting tips while filming this seriesI often tell people that my father has taught me a lot about what not to do He did so many things that made me think lsquoOh my god I wonrsquot do this to my kidsrsquo laughs In this show the communication angle has been brought to the fore Itrsquos good to watch over what is happening in the house rather than interfere in everything If Neerja Juhi Parmarrsquos character handles the kidsrsquo studies as a father I should not interfere But at the same time I should ensure that she doesnrsquot slap the child in anger This is what I have learnt from the showDo you believe in the concept of spare the rod spoil the childIt all depends on your conditioning If you are too imposing as a parent want your child to be a certain way and want him to achieve what you have not in life then it is a hardship But as humans we donrsquot need to rely on screaming or beating to discipline childrenAlso ReadRajesh Kumar recalls 90s era shares experience working in Yeh Meri Family