'City children are harassed': Thyrocare founder's blunt take on India’s broken parenting model
Velumani emphasized that the stress isn’t only academic—it stems from the relentless demand to excel in everything. The result, he warns, is a childhood robbed of discovery and joy.
- Jul 22, 2025,
- Updated Jul 22, 2025 7:43 AM IST
In a deeply reflective talk that’s stirring quiet introspection among Indian parents, Thyrocare founder Dr A Velumani has drawn a stark line between the “blessed” freedom of village childhoods and the “harassed” existence of their city counterparts.
Dr Velumani, at an event, questioned the unrelenting schedules imposed on urban children—arguing that what’s often praised as well-rounded upbringing is, in truth, quiet suffering.
“We are overloading a child too early, too much,” he said, painting a picture of children who wake before dawn and move through days filled with academics, coaching, classes, and more.
He pointedly described the contrast: while village children enjoy slower days filled with unstructured time and room to wander, city children are pushed through adult-like routines that squeeze out spontaneity. “Village children are blessed. City children are harassed,” he declared.
Velumani emphasized that the stress isn’t only academic—it stems from the relentless demand to excel in everything. The result, he warns, is a childhood robbed of discovery and joy.
Offering a gentler alternative, he shared his own parenting philosophy: add only one new activity a year after age six, and let it change annually. This keeps learning fresh and voluntary, he said, instead of forced and exhausting.
“Let children learn what they want—not what you want them to learn,” Velumani urged, framing love as a form of freedom, not control. His closing words land with quiet weight: children aren’t meant to be “cooked,” they’re meant to grow—with care, not pressure.
In a deeply reflective talk that’s stirring quiet introspection among Indian parents, Thyrocare founder Dr A Velumani has drawn a stark line between the “blessed” freedom of village childhoods and the “harassed” existence of their city counterparts.
Dr Velumani, at an event, questioned the unrelenting schedules imposed on urban children—arguing that what’s often praised as well-rounded upbringing is, in truth, quiet suffering.
“We are overloading a child too early, too much,” he said, painting a picture of children who wake before dawn and move through days filled with academics, coaching, classes, and more.
He pointedly described the contrast: while village children enjoy slower days filled with unstructured time and room to wander, city children are pushed through adult-like routines that squeeze out spontaneity. “Village children are blessed. City children are harassed,” he declared.
Velumani emphasized that the stress isn’t only academic—it stems from the relentless demand to excel in everything. The result, he warns, is a childhood robbed of discovery and joy.
Offering a gentler alternative, he shared his own parenting philosophy: add only one new activity a year after age six, and let it change annually. This keeps learning fresh and voluntary, he said, instead of forced and exhausting.
“Let children learn what they want—not what you want them to learn,” Velumani urged, framing love as a form of freedom, not control. His closing words land with quiet weight: children aren’t meant to be “cooked,” they’re meant to grow—with care, not pressure.