During an interview with RJ Raunaq, actor Manoj Bajpayee shared his views on parenting, suggesting that children today are overly protected. He disclosed that he’s had minimal time to spend with his daughter, Ava Nayla, and emphasized that it’s acceptable for kids to sometimes see their parents as the ‘villains’. Bajpayee indicated that children are likely to resent their parents regardless, so it’s crucial for them to build resilience and character early on.
Responding to a question about the challenges faced by the current generation compared to his own, he highlighted the shift in family structures from joint to nuclear families. Bajpayee expressed concern over the trend of treating children as achievements and trophies in urban settings, emphasizing the importance of preparing them for the realities of the world and equipping them with essential skills.
He stated, “It’s a serious topic, and one that I think about frequently. We cushion our kids too much. We’ve moved away from joint families to nuclear families. We live in cities, and we start perceiving our children as our trophies. We forget that the same child has to face the world, and that we need to guide them, teach them, give them the right tools.”
Manoj also criticized the influence of social media, pointing out that in his youth, he engaged more with the ‘real world’ and with people directly. He noted that children today are often confined to their screens, leading to difficulties in coping with harsh realities and potentially sinking into depression, “What’s the harm in parents being perceived by their kids as the villains? As it is, they’re not going to care about you when they become adults. Sometimes, even when they’re in their early teens they can ignore you while they’re sitting next to you. They will eventually move on from you,” he expressed.
He added, “Stop seeing your children as your personal trophy. Stop saying, ‘I love my child’ No! You are his parents, so of course you are going to love him anyway, but your love is ruining their lives. Because you’re being selfish, you’re not thinking about what’s good for the child. What’s good for the child is you drawing clear lines. ‘This is the amount of time you’ll get for digital consumption’. They will cry, they will argue, they will feel tortured, but it’s good for them. I’ll be the villain, but it’s good for the child. The child will hate me? It’s fine, it’s good for his life. You’re going to be the villain either way, so…”
The actor recently shared a major update about the third season of The Family Man. The actor will reprise his role as Srikant Tiwari, who is a ‘middle-class guy and a world class spy’. Srikant will expertly confront the looming threat to national security, while balancing the demands of family life and desperately working to mend his relationship with his wife in the new season.
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