BHOPAL: An engineering student locked his mother inside the house because the parents were reluctant to give him a car. The boy had taken his mom’s cellphone even because he was not being given the car.

A student of Class IX wanted a Karizma mobike but was given a Pulsar. In protest, he stopped attending school until he got the desired model.

A boy of Class VII went for an excursion from his school. So attached was he with his smartphone that he took it with him neglecting school authorities’ warning. Upon finding, his cell phone was confiscated and deposited with the principal. While his parents were to meet the principal the next day, he demanded another phone in the night itself. Now, the boy wants an iPhone.

Sound familiar? Gone are the days when a child used to get a paltry 20 bucks from their parents for meeting the day’s expenses. The expense, as it is now, is sometimes more than five times the amount, experts say.

The daily refuelling of the two-wheelers coupled with watching movies at multiplex and eating out combos, the pocket money of teenagers has gone through the roof. And their demands are on the rise.

Dr Ruma Bhattacharya, a psychologist, says that she comes across such cases almost daily. “It is normal for kids to demand and blackmail parents over fancy cell phones, top-end mobikes, more pocket money for movie and eating out options. Normally the pocket money these days ranges anywhere between Rs 50-100 per day,” Dr Bhattacharya said.

“Not just boys, recently even a girl demanded a bike and would not relent,” she said.

According to her, these are habits that the children start picking up from a tender age. When they reach adolescence, it becomes unavoidable for them. Parents often give them pocket money or succumb to their kids’ demands easily to compensate the time they are not able to spend with their kids. This is quite detrimental, she added.

Dr Bhattacharya said that parents start hitting the panic button from Class IX onwards when it is often too late. “Often these habits are inculcated by parents, who shop extravagantly or eat out frequently, taking kids along with them.”

Counsellor Mohib Ahmed reiterates how important it is for parents to keep a tab on the pocket money being given to their children. “There is a fine line between being bossy and a complete pushover. Parents should learn to be diplomatic.”

“When the child starts earning himself and is not able to keep up with the kind of liquid cash, which was once at his disposal, he starts indulging in criminal activities,” she added.

(Names and details of three case studies are withheld to save their identity)

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