Encourage all kids, not just your own

Encourage all kids, not just your own

The holiday season is in full force and I've been enjoying a number of wonderful parties since late last week. One of the more important ones for me was the Open House ceremony at my son's school which takes place at this time each and every year. It is a time when parents have a chance to watch children in class, talk to the teachers, and watch them perform on stage. I have been doing this for six years already.

This year, my son and his classmates proudly performed a Gangnam style dance. It was the first show of the day so everyone was in full spirit to enjoy the fun. One boy on the stage even called out loudly to his dad to take his photo. After his first dance, my son had another performance with the melodica band to end the show.

A teacher emcee explained to the parents that the kids had been working very hard for the past few weeks to prepare for the show and were very excited to perform.

I remembered that I had asked my son many times before the Open House to show me a glimpse of his dance. He told me it was a secret. "You'll have to go to see me on stage."

Last year, there were only five stage performances. I remembered very well that my son, a kindergarten 3 student at that time, had two shows, one a Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer dance with his class and another with the melodica band. Everything went well that day. All the parents stayed until the very end and gave rousing applause as if they were the greatest shows on earth. The whole thing took only one hour.

This year, however, there were almost 20 shows. The big meeting hall was packed with parents when the show started. Like many other parents, I was busy taking photos and taking videos of the kids' performances. Some of the younger children cried, others missed the dance steps. But who cares? For us parents, it was a great joy just to see our kids growing up and performing for us.

My son's Gangnam style dance was at the start of the show and he had to wait backstage for a very long time for his melodica show, which was scheduled at the end of long series of performances.

During the performances, many parents gradually left the hall after their kids performed. So when the last show was approaching, there were just a few people left in the audience, including my family.

When the melodica band took the stage, some kids looked upset when they stood in front of an near-empty hall. But the show must go on, and the kids showed their spirit by giving their best.

While I admire the kids' spirit, I wonder about the parents who lacked consideration for the children's feelings. Imagine you were a kid in the last show and there was almost no one there. How would you feel?

Most parents expect their children's schools to encourage the students to be confident and demonstrate their talents. The parents should do their part as well. They should pay attention to their kids' _ and other kids' _ hard work. Parents shouldn't be leaving the annual performance until the show ends.

And if it is not a matter of life and death, then parents should be at the show.

A little girl who performed with my son during his first dance looked absolutely dispirited. She was unhappy because her mum was not there. By the end of the show that little girl had come down with a fever. A teacher tried calling her parents so they could take her to see the doctor. The poor thing!

I hope her parents may have a good excuse for not being there, because the girl's feelings were clearly hurt.

But there's always next year, and I promise I'll be there till the very end, and not just to see the kid's performances, but also the parent's. Happy holidays, everyone.


Krissana Parnsoonthorn is Deputy Business Editor, Bangkok Post.

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