Child seen urinating on Indore Airport tarmac, entrepreneur says 'the real problem is parenting'

A video filmed at Indore airport has sparked a larger conversation online - not just about cleanliness, but about the habits children learn from the adults around them.The clip, shared by entrepreneur and Chai Sutta Bar co-founder Anubhav Dubey, shows a young boy urinating on the airport tarmac while his parents stand nearby.

The video has since gone viral, with many social media users weighing in on whether the incident reflects a deeper problem of civic behaviour in India.Dubey, who recorded the moment, was quick to point out that he wasn't blaming the child."The child is innocent," he said in the video. "This is a parenting issue."He said children simply copy what they see at home, and if adults treat public urination as normal, youngsters are likely to grow up believing it's acceptable too.The incident, he noted, was particularly striking because it happened in Indore, a city that has repeatedly been ranked among the cleanest in the country. He wondered what impression such scenes might leave on visitors arriving from elsewhere.Dubey also acknowledged that open urination is still common in many parts of India, especially in places where people have grown up seeing it as a normal part of everyday life.

According to him, that's exactly what makes the issue difficult to tackle."When something becomes common, people stop questioning it," he said, arguing that repeated behaviour often ends up being accepted instead of challenged.He went on to say that a country's progress isn't measured only by its economy or infrastructure. Everyday behaviour, he said, also plays a big role in how a society functions.While appreciating government efforts to improve sanitation by building more public toilets over the years, Dubey said lasting change has to begin at home.

Parents, he added, are often a child's first teachers, and simple lessons about respecting public spaces can make a difference in the long run.

In the caption accompanying the video, he urged people - especially men - to stop urinating in public and called for stronger public participation in keeping shared spaces clean.The video quickly drew hundreds of reactions online.Many people agreed with Dubey's point that children shouldn't be blamed for actions they learn from adults.

Others said civic sense is something that has to be taught from an early age rather than expected later in life.One user wrote that good manners and civic responsibility begin at home and should be treated as seriously as academic education. Another said the country's biggest challenge is the attitude that "everything is acceptable," adding that changing mindsets is just as important as improving infrastructure.Some users also shared similar experiences from their own cities, saying they had often seen adults and children urinating in public despite nearby facilities. A few women pointed out that public urination doesn't just create hygiene concerns but can also make public spaces feel uncomfortable and unsafe.As the debate continues online, the video has become less about one family at an airport and more about a question many people are asking: can cleaner cities be built without changing everyday habits?