As a kid, I hated drinking milk and it wasn’t uncommon for me to throw up after having too much milk or end up with an upset stomach or uneasiness. But not having my usual 2 glasses of milk in a day was never an option even if it ended with me vomiting it all out. I remember days when my parents would basically bully or threaten me into having milk because it was “healthy”. And sadly this is the story of every other desi household. Most of us were force-fed to the point that it felt abusive. Speaking much in line with the same topic, singer Chinmayi Sripaada kickstarted a conversation on Twitter about how force-feeding kids has a lot to do with consent or lack thereof.
Taking to Twitter, the singer pointed out how she has seen several Instagram handles stressing on good parenting practices and went on to highlight that it helped her understand how force-feeding kids is closely connected with consent. Further, she spoke about how force-feeding often involved a lot of violence as many of us were beaten up and scolded for not eating. Chinmayi Sripaada also shared how it’s extremely stressful to deal with it in a country where people want kids to be healthy and even obese in order to show that they’re well-fed.
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While giving a trigger warning, Chinmayi Sripaada further highlighted how she has come across adults who have not just force-fed their kids but also forced them to eat their own vomit after they threw up due to force-feeding. Another thing highlighted by the singer was the fact that desi parents often show their kids a different kind of food item and then feed them a different food item which sows the seed of distrust in the impressionable minds and hearts of kids. Speaking of the violent childhood faced by many, the singer pointed out how many of us have the luxury to heal and unlearn everything we’ve learned from our violent childhoods while hoping that this ends with our generation. The singer went on to stress how important it is to change the societal idea of having kids to “fix” an abusive partner or to reform them. And we agree.
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TBH, it’s time we unlearn these toxic traits and normalise kids not wanting to eat something. More importantly, we cannot expect adults to understand consent and personal boundaries when their own boundaries have been violated and their consent hasn’t been valued as kids. Let’s stop sowing seeds of distrust in their young minds and violently force-feeding them things that they can’t or don’t want to eat.