1 When I decided to marry my husband, my mom told me, "Most Hindu Christian marriages fail". And I pleaded, "Ma it may work for me." I gave her the reference of my newly acquired knowledge of some wisdom words, "Every generation will have to feel for itself that the stove is hot."
2 This is the generation gap when you are telling the child not to touch something hot, but he will do it anyway until he burns himself and learns his own lesson. Well, my Mom was talking of her experience. My marriage worked also because we both accepted this as a challenge. Everywhere we went, we got vibrations - it's not going to work! We had to make it work.
3 The generation gap is the constant struggle of the parents to prevent their kids from doing things that their own experiences and wisdom tell them is going to harm their kids. The kids on the other hand try constantly to prove to the parents that they are equipped to take control of their lives. Neither is wrong they are both right in their own premise. The parents, blinded by their love for the kids, would rather have their own experiences replace the experiences of their kids. Whereas, the kids are convinced that their decisions are right and are based on current situations that the parents may not necessarily be aware of. Their most common statement is "Ma things are different now."
4 The most common mistake we parents make is that we do not treat our kids their age it's either they are too young or we measure them at our own level. Once my daughter was on the phone long enough while my husband needed the phone line free. His common complaint was the conversation was senseless. I, in turn, asked him what he would suggest a 17- year old to talk on "current affairs", My husband immediately apologized. It was nice of him to do so. By feeling sorry for something we did wrong does not make us small. We only grow in our teens' esteem, and they in turn learn to apologize when it is required.
5 Generation gaps can be reduced to some extent by making efforts. I must mention here that most efforts must come from the parents they have the wisdom. It becomes easier to adjust if the parents constantly refresh their memories by their own past outrageousness.
Pick from the indicated paragraphs words that best complete the following sentences.
1. he ....... for forgiveness, but she would not change her mind. (para. 1)
2. The next major...... for the company is to prove its distribution capabilities (para.2)
3. With age and experience comes.......(para.1)
4. We ...... the classroom for important visitors by hanging some new slightly posters. (para. 3).
5. Martin Luther king Jr. lead a...... for justice and freedom.(para.3)
6. The ... that an accused person is innocent until proved guilty is adopted by all courts. (para. 3)
7. Dad warned us that if there were any more......., we were turning around and not going to the beach. (para. 4)
8. if we can only remember our own......, we would probably stop judging others. (para.5).
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