I had the shock of my life yesterday when I went to my uncle’s house to celebrate Christmas early with his family. Due to the preparation for my O-levels, I hadn’t seen my five year-old cousin for quite a few months, and when I saw him yesterday, he seemed almost a different person from that sweet, adorable child I remembered.

Gone was the little boy who begged to be given a hug and who laughed when tickled. Instead, in his place was a child who appeared to have been spoilt rotten: His eyes were permanently glued to the television screen and he refused to eat until I threatened him with turning off the television. Only then did he open his mouth for the maid to spoonfeed him, but after that he once again ignored the maid’s pleas to eat his food. When I did fufill my threat of turning the television off, he began to wail until my aunt placeted him by turning the television on again.

After dinner, I went into the children’s room to play with him and his older sister by four years. The girl showed me her picture book, and while I expected the boy to play with his toys, he went into his parents’ room to take the IPad from their bed. Unlocking the screen, he proceeded to play Angry Birds. I couldn’t help but think, “Are five year-old kids supposed to know how to do that?” However, the thing that scared me the most was the boy’s ability to cry on cue. When I asked him whether he bullied his sister (despite him being younger), he began to cry until my uncle came in and scolded me. The instant my uncle closed the door, he stopped and actually smirked at me. According to the girl, this was possible due to the drama lessons my aunt made him take, which apparently included a course on crying on cue. And the thing was, when I remarked about the unusual behavior of my boy cousin, my aunt and uncle seemed puzzled and said it was ‘normal’.

Many have praised the increasing westernisation in our country for contributing to its progress, but at the same time, it is also creating an ever-enlarging pool of young parents with modern mindsets who think it is okay to ‘bribe’ a child by handing it modern gadgets such as smartphones and IPads for them to be entertained. Call me traditional, but though I do think progress has its benefits, I still prefer the more traditional upbringing, where children entertain themselves by either playing on their own or interacting with friends, instead of being entertained by a screen with moving pictures. There was also a strict rule of no television during meals, and mollycoddling was only allowed up till a certain age. Crying when it was one’s fault to begin with bore no sympathy or placeting from parents; instead, a stern talking to was given to let the child know he or she was wrong. Bribing children with toys or gadgets to stop them from crying only teaches them that they have to use tears to get what they want.