--- url: 'https://neversayretired.in/a-changing-home-a-changing-childhood/' title: 'A Changing Home, A Changing Childhood' author: name: विजय मारू url: 'https://neversayretired.in/author/vijaymaroo/' date: '2026-09-05T19:58:26+05:30' modified: '2026-09-05T19:58:28+05:30' type: post categories: - Age Power (English) image: 'https://neversayretired.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pexels-changing-childhood.jpg' published: true --- # A Changing Home, A Changing Childhood If you are among those fortunate enough to have crossed seventy, pause for a moment and try to remember what the atmosphere at home was like when you were in school and college. Now compare it with the homes in which your grandchildren are growing up and studying. In our time, we certainly studied after returning from school, but going out to play with friends was also an important part of our daily routine. Children from the neighbourhood would gather together. We made our own rules and settled our own quarrels. Learning to win and lose, wait for our turn, listen to others and sometimes accept our mistakes were all valuable life lessons that no textbook taught us. Today, children perhaps hardly have time to play. The moment they return from school, there are assignments, projects and studies. Then come music classes, dance, karate, swimming, abacus and countless other activities. Parents naturally want their children to excel in every field and prepare them for a highly competitive future. But sometimes one wonders: what are we really trying to make our children—successful human beings or happy human beings? Another major difference is the structure of the family. Many of us grew up with not just our brothers and sisters, but also cousins living nearby. In joint families, there were more children around, and there was always someone of our age to play and talk with. Today, nuclear families are the norm, and many families have just one child. There is another point worth considering. When we were studying, how many children had separate tutors for different subjects? How many of our parents could afford special coaching for every subject? Most of us depended on what was taught at school and, when necessary, sought help from an elder brother or sister, a neighbour or another family member. Educational opportunities have certainly increased today. Technology has brought knowledge into our homes. But the same technology has also changed the atmosphere at home. Mobile phones, laptops, tablets and the internet are now part of almost every household. Children are busy with these devices, but parents are no different. Whether for work, social media or entertainment, family members often sit in the same room while their attention remains fixed on different screens. So when do grandparents, parents and children actually sit together and talk? When do children ask their elders questions? When do they get an opportunity to learn small but important lessons about life simply through conversation and everyday experiences? Perhaps this is one reason why irritability and impatience seem more common among children today. But we also need to ask how much of this is really the child’s fault. When a child makes a demand and parents immediately fulfil it, the child may gradually develop the expectation that every wish should be satisfied at once. Parents too are often unsure. How should they talk to their children? How much should they explain? Where should they set boundaries and where should they give freedom? There are no easy answers. Busy lives and diminishing family conversations have made things more difficult. In my view, the real issue is not merely mobile phones or tuition. The fundamental issue is the change in the family environment. The good news is that it is not too late. We do not have to take children out of their time and bring them back to ours. We do not have to reject technology or modern education. What we need is a balance between modern facilities and traditional family values. Grandparents have something very valuable to offer — not just time, but experience. They can play with children, talk to them, share stories from their own childhood and teach important lessons of life without opening a textbook. Most importantly, they can make children feel that there is someone who will listen to them. The family needs to become a place of conversation again. There should be some time every day when phones are put away and family members sit together. Some time each week should be spent playing with the children. Ask them about school, their friends and the little concerns that may be troubling them. If we become conscious of this today, we can make our home environment considerably more positive over the next 20–25 years. A child’s future will not be shaped only by good education, good marks and a successful career. Children also need a home where there is time, conversation, discipline, affection and, above all, family. Perhaps that is the change we need to begin today. #### Author ![विजय मारू](https://neversayretired.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/maroo-vijay-mission-never-say-retired-150x150.jpg)***Vijay Maroo*** The author is the founder of the Never Say Retire mission. In order to achieve this goal, he also runs this website and his Facebook group Never Say Retire Forum has Hundreds and Thousands of members today.