Children today indeed grow up in a world that prizes quick answers but rarely teaches patience or humility. (Representational Image)Pampering your child and putting up with their tantrums is a common thing in most families. But imagine a child who has two parents and four doting grandparents, each ready to pamper, indulge and cater to every little tantrum their little household 'Prince' or 'Princess' throws. It is a common scenario in many Indian homes.Psychologists call this the Six Pocket Syndrome, where a child effectively carries six income pockets of indulgence: mother, father, maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents.Recently, 10-year-old Ishit Bhatt from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, grabbed eyeballs when he took his place at the hot seat on KBC. It wasn't so much what he knew (or didn't) but how he conducted himself on the show that captured attention and sparked a nationwide debate. Six Pocket Syndrome"The Six Pocket Syndrome is a psychological pattern where a child is pampered fully by all the members of the family," says Riddhi Doshi Patel, a renowned Child Psychologist & Parenting Counsellor from Mumbai. Riddhi explains that while parents and grandparents provide for the child out of love and affection. Such patterns quite often lead to a dependence on materialistic benefits and excessive gratification in the child.Think of this by picturing a child (often the only child in many modern families) having six adults hovering around: two parents and four grandparents. Six individuals here transcend into six pockets, all showering with love, affection and gifts (monetary wishes).The result? A child who grows up believing the world is one big cheerleading squad. With every 'want' being fulfilled and every mistake brushed under the carpet, it gives the child a sense of 'entitlement' and unintentionally 'spoils' it.Riddhi opines that when such patterns continue, the child may engage in manipulative behaviour to get his or her own way. Dr Madhumitha Ezhil Kumar, Founder of The Screenfree Parent points out, "What starts as love, an extra toy or an extra hour of screen time, quietly turns into entitlement when every want is met before it becomes a need." The KBC DebateLast month, when little Ishit Bhatt took the KBC hot seat, it wasn't just another cute "Junior KBC" episode. It somehow became (for many) a national case study in child behaviour and modern parenting.The boy, smart and articulate, came across as self-assured -- perhaps a little too self-assured. His remarks like "Arre, options daalo na!" And "Mereko rules pata hai isliye aap mujhe ab rules samjane mat baitna" (I know the rules, so don't try and explain them to me again) made viewers sit up straight and frown. While some lauded his confidence, many found it a bit 'disrespectful' and 'arrogant.'Riddhi says, "As a child psychologist, I do not think Ishit depicted symptoms solely of the Six Pocket Syndrome. There was more to it. It seemed to be a case of anxiety, if any."So, was Ishit rude? Or just raised in an age where confidence is currency? Well, the Six Pocket Syndrome does not create "bad" kids. It creates children who are heard too much and guided or corrected too little. When everyone around you praises your cleverness and pampers, it's easy to mistake assertiveness for arrogance.What amplifies matters is when parents and grandparents, too, often mistake early confidence for maturity. The beam proudly when their child interrupts adults with opinions or corrects teachers mid-sentence. However, things like social grace and adaptability -- the ability to read a room, to pause before speaking is something that requires gentle social cultivation! Markers of SPSDr Madhumitha opines that the Six Pocket Syndrome isn't something that goes unnoticed. "You can often spot it in how a child handles a simple No." Explaining further that even a small "No" may trigger big reactions. What adds to the mess is that such children also expect instant gratification and struggle to share attention or other possessions. Dr Madhumitha explains, "A child used to constant approval or quick fixes can find it hard to wait, cope or even take feedback."She believes that behavioural patterns like this have less to do with bad behaviour. It just happens that the child has been provided with limited or no opportunity to practice patience and resilience.Dr Madhumitha also opines that the same syndrome in the Indian context may come across in a more amplified way.She says, "In western countries, children are introduced earlier to chores, part-time work and self-reliance."However, in India, the economic and emotional safety nets are thicker and often the generations that precede engage the child in more indulgences. Dr Madhumitha quips, "Urban nuclear families with strong grandparental involvement tend to display it the most."Riddhi adds, "I see a lot of this behaviour in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, especially among upper-middle-class families as joint family systems seem to be diminishing." Riddhi believes that this is where the child's emotional involvement suffers, as there are fewer people to interact with or guide the child. A Wake-Up CallIf the family is the child's first mirror, the internet quite unapologetically has become the world's loudspeaker. What might have been an innocent childhood quirk generations ago, now in no time becomes a viral spectacle with hashtags and hot takes.While it's the family who should be correcting, experts also warn that public shaming at such a young age can leave emotional scars deeper than any quiz show failure. The Six Pocket Syndrome isn't a child's flaw. It is a symptom for adults to hit the brakes in terms of gauging love with limits. Children today indeed grow up in a world that prizes quick answers but rarely teaches patience or humility. Perhaps, it's a gap that isn't solely theirs to fix, but ours to address, reflect upon and correct!