Want to send your kid to a posh school? Entrepreneur warns such schools may affect kids' well-being: You’re paying lakhs to make your child feel…’

Parents do anything to give their children the lifestyle and privileges they never had access to. That includes admitting them to high-end schools which are attended by kids of the 'who's who' in the country. However, an entrepreneur recently took to X to caution middle-class parents against admitting their kids to posh schools. This could, he explained, make the kids develop an inferiority complex instead of making them grow into confident young people.

Rich School Is Not The Best School

Jasveer Singh stated that parents shouldn’t strive to admit kids to the poshest school they could afford. “Don’t stretch your finances just to put your child into the most expensive school you can afford. The right school is not necessarily the richest,” he wrote.

It Can Make Your Child Feel Poor

Singh warned that going to a school where peers are all ultra-high-net-worth can do a number on a child’s self-esteem, as they inevitably will compare themselves to their classmates every day and come off as feeling ‘inferior’. “You don’t need to become poorer to feel poor; you only need to change your comparison group. A great school means nothing if your child feels poor every single day.



Parents often judge one school against another, but children are constantly measuring their own lives against those of their classmates. This is a difference many parents fail to recognise.

A parent may feel they have stretched their finances to provide their child with the best possible education. Yet, the child may see things differently, believing they have less than the people around them. The same upbringing can therefore leave two completely different impressions on a parent and a child.

In some cases, families may spend several lakhs on an elite school only to expose their children to an environment where constant comparison makes them feel inadequate. Instead of building confidence, the experience can gradually affect their mental health in the long run.

Parents often judge one school against another, but children are constantly measuring their own lives against those of their classmates. This is a difference many parents fail to recognise.

A parent may feel they have stretched their finances to provide their child with the best possible education. Yet, the child may see things differently, believing they have less than the people around them. The same upbringing can therefore leave two completely different impressions on a parent and a child.

In some cases, families may spend several lakhs on an elite school only to expose their children to an environment where constant comparison makes them feel inadequate. Instead of building confidence, the experience can gradually make a child feel that they are falling behind.

The entrepreneur said this low self-esteem will manifest in various ways. Most kids would never outright admit their struggles with self-esteem but request that parents not pick them up in a Maruti car when other kids are arriving in BMWs.

"Your child may tell you, 'Papa, don't bring the car to the school gate, park a little further away. I'll walk there. Why? Because he doesn't want his classmates to see him getting into a Maruti. He doesn't want them to think, 'His father doesn't have money. Before entering that school, the child may never have considered his father’s Maruti embarrassing…” he said.

Children are not simply measuring who owns the most expensive possessions. Instead, they notice small, everyday differences that are easy to see around them. They may compare the food packed for lunch, the shoes they wear, birthday celebrations, the amount of pocket money they receive, school excursions, backpacks, smartphones, and even the activities they attend after classes.

The child can isolate themselves and refuse to mingle and attend parties at a friend’s home. “The parent may think the child is becoming introverted. In reality, the child may simply be protecting himself from situations he cannot afford," he stated.

He concluded that education is not about fancy schools but about

helping your children build confidence and empower themselves.

Singh is the co-founder and CEO of Knot Dating.