Enjoying childhood today- a lost dream

priyauc · Sep 28, 2007

I feel saddened to see the children of today. We grew up playing the games and doing all the naughty things we could .We would go to the park when we were very small with our mothers. When we grew up a little all the children of the neighbourhoood would come to out compound and we would play from 4 in the evening till 7 in the evening.We would trouble the neighbours with our noise and break the glasspanes of the windows with the sixes of cricket game we would play. I was part of the neighbourhood cricket team and a priveleged member of it, wouldnt go away even if i got out.Wud always want to bat a second time. And being one of the two girls in the team was allowed to do so.We would go to school, play and sweat it out, eat home food and be happy. Spend time with our grandparents. Be disciplined when it comes to watching television, and have a discipline for everything at home. We would not be allowed to watch tv for ever. neither would we ever take dinner and sit in front of the idiot box. We were asked to finish dinner and then watch television. As we grew older we inculcated the good habit of reading.
Nowadays children are glued to the television set, play only computer games, eat the junk food as parents do not have time to cook for them. Children of 11/2 to 2 years are eating chips and all the crap you could not dream of eating at that age. I have myself seen in dubai kids waiting for a school bus at 6:45 in the morning with cans of coke in their hand.Shouldnt there be a glass of milk in its place.i used to wonder what kind of monitoring do parents do. I feel sad for these kids.Kids are left at baby sitters, there is no harm in that as the times are such both parents have to work, but what do the baby sitters feed the kids,chips, and unhealthy food.At least the parents can provide good homemade fresh food for the kid to eat there.They wont ever climb trees to break raw mangoes or star apples, they wont enjoy their childhood the way we have. They carry such heavy bags of books to school as the competition is so much these days. You would find them going for tutions after school, then dancing class, and guitar class etc etc. When will they have their fun time?? Let them grow. The basis of a good life is a good childhood. Let their innocence remain.Dont kill it!!!

rajmiarun · Sep 28, 2007

Yes Priyu,

You are right. Kids today are loosing their childhood. That is why we made it a point to get a house in a apartment with some space where the kids could play. But you know what the kids also have fallen a prey for the politics. They are taught by the parents to play with certain kids and not to get involved with others. Thank God ours is a middle class apartment and the atmosphere here is not like that. We all tend to be jovial and cordial and all the kids are loved by all.

It all takes a few mins of early waking and a few early preparations which today's working mom's never realize. I work from home but that doesnt mean that I have my own timings. I dont commute to office but my office time starts at a sharp time and I am to report to work at that appropriate time. But I make sure I give my kid who is going to school a breakfast and a healthy lunch. No junk and no aerated drinks.

We also make sure that the kids watch only a few kids programs and not all the shows shown in Cartoon Network or other kids channels. My daughter should definitely play down with the kids for atleast one hour and no computer games. She is intelligent in other ways but as we have not allowed her to play she is not doing so.

If and only if the mother's take care the kids will not loose their childhood.

Sumathy · Sep 28, 2007

Hi Priya,

I understand the pain in your post. But I want to assure you that all is not lost! I live in bangalore, India and I feel it is not so bad here. It may be like what you have described in countries like Dubai and may be western countries, but in India, I feel that there is still a strong attachment to the traditional way of bringing up kids - be it in food, games,etc.

This is especially true with educated and working moms who take extra care that the kids dont lose out on anything because of the mother's working. Many of my daughters parents and I arrange play dates and we also take them out to natural scenery places. Living in an apartment, playing in the park with other kids is a 'must' event in the evenings. And I have seen many kids preferring to play in park or with their friends that sitting in front of TV or computers. Everywhere I see this wave on 'nutritional food' and emphasis on fruits. Similarly on keeping fit and preventing obesity.

All the same, we have to accept that there are some lifestyle changes that is affecting everybody. The challenge is to retain what is good and reject others. Look at the positive side - children are more creative these days. The are smarter and more clear on what they want. Rote based learning is on the decline in most schools . I personally feel we are probably on the right side of the circle!

But one thing I feel bad about is the decline in the quality of teaching professionals. Bright people opt for better paying careers and teaching is left to mediocre people - that scenario needs to change. For that, we need to ensure that the schools pay the teachers well and give other benefits too!

Cheers,

Sumathy