"You may give them your love but not your thoughts, /For they have their own thoughts./You may house their bodies but not their souls, /For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, /which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."

The tragic end, or rather the watery burial of of a ten year old boy Ronaldo in Chennai yesterday reminds me of these lines of Kahlil Gibran, considered to be one of the greatest thinkers. The boy was scared of stepping into the swimming pool. His father, however would not let him have his way. 'Your fear is imaginary. It would disappear once you get used to the water', the wise father advised him!

The father left him with the trainers, who incidentally did not let his father watch his son swimming, and went for a walk. In ten minutes, he gets a call that his son has fainted. The trainers had noticed Ronaldo drowning. It took two or three minutes before they pulled him out of the depths of the pool. All they could do was to bring him 'dead' to the hospital!

Several questions arise. Didn't they have any lifeguard? Was the depth of the pool more than four feet � so that even a ten year boy could be trained? Can they allow children below 12 to enter the pool unaccompanied by an adult?

Of course, all these questions are not going to bring Ronaldo back. It is time we educated the parents. There is too much of a craze for summer camps. Vacation is a time for children to enjoy. Why should the parents compel them to learn during this period of joy?

I would end this with Kahlil Gibran again. �You may give them your love but not your thoughts, / For they have their own thoughts./You may house their bodies but not their souls,/ For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.�