i feel children of economically less endowed parents are more obedient and follow our instructions better than those of the privileged ones observed the founder principal of a reputed montessori school during a conversation recently having worked as a successful educator for over four decades she was not off the mark as spouse and i mulled over the sexagenarian mentors comment over our morning cuppa we noted how children from modest backgrounds were increasingly doing better for themselves as if to endorse our observation the days newspaper headlines announced the rare feat of a vegetable sellers son who won the first gold for india at the rio paralympics it was an inspiring and heartwarming story of a highly motivated youngster who outshone poverty as well as his debility to grab success all for his mother a single parent several such instances of children living in shanties studying under street lamps or borrowed books and making it big for themselves by cracking the iit medical or the haloed ias entrance exams are becoming rather common one of the primary reasons behind these incredible success stories is the determination to lead a better life besides realising the dreams of their unprivileged parents who sacrifice a major slice of their livelihood to sustain their kids our milkmans son for instance is pursuing law at a premier institute even as his nephew prepares for another shot at medical entrance refusing to settle for a secondrung medical college he got through this year in contrast to these highly driven focused and diligent youngsters who are constantly egged on by an aspirational stirrup the children of the privileged sections are often a complacent lot call it the perils of prosperity or whatever but most kids of affluent or even upper middle classes today are over indulged bored and shifty used to every kind of luxury in life they often lack the drive to push themselves beyond their comfort levels some of the moral and emotional hazards of growing up rich are increasing substance abuse or indulging in selfinflicting behaviour by teens point out experts to add to the ills of having everything laid out on a platter is the high level of distractions that our teens constantly confront solutions are at hand but require perseverance and a tough will power not to be disheartened by initial failures to begin with parents need to emphasise on responsibility and accountability even as we provide our teens with all the amenities in life linking behaviour and performances to natural consequences could be useful as it helps children mature and take responsibility moreover we need to help them gain perspective on their own privileged state this can be done by taking them around slums orphanages or making them meet and interact with the less endowed apart from making them more compassionate it induces a warmer relationship between family members while its important to encourage our children to dream its equally crucial to build self control to keep their focus