The Death Of Innocence

Dear One,

'Children are the temple of innocence' - Think again?

I was watching a reality show on TV and it was targeting young children to test their abilities in a country wide talent search. The format of the show is a well tested one, where one is pitted against each other like Roman gladiators, set to prove their innate supremacy. The gladiators were blood thirsty mean machines of bloodshed, but these little warriors are thankfully fighting a bloodless battle of wits and competition, but nonetheless, least aggressive than their Roman counterparts.

When we were of that tender age, innocence was undergoing a drastic transformation. Television had just made it's mark and we had limited programs to watch and grin our face in contentment. It was more of a family affair and I clearly remember when we got our first television set, it was Chayageet and Nukkad all along the way. All the elders and children would sit together to watch these serials with gay abandon. (By the way, "Gay" meant to mean "Happy" then)

Today's generation doesn't have the opportunity to watch such superb serials with their parents and friends. Reality TV rules the TRP along with stupid Saas-Bahu serials. Today's children are the most fortunate and also the most deprived. Fortunate, because of the vast opportunities to tap into and deprived at the same time because of the death of innocence in lieu of this mad rush for early fame and fortune.

Parents too seem to support this incalculable loss of innocence as they prepare their tiny tots to take on the limelight with sheer arrogance and a killer instinct. There was this little girl, no more than 5 years of age, who gyrated to an erotic dance number, that shocked even the judges of the show. When asked for an explanation from the parent, the father unabashedly said, "This is what the audience wants to see!", leaving everyone stunned, including me. Have we come to a stage where we don't mind exploiting our children in poor light, just to bask in that fleeting 15 seconds of fame?

The so called educated parents are ruining their child's childhood by making them behave like callous adults. They teach them everything from smart negotiation to tart answers in retaliation of the judge's questions. When the world gasps in disbelief, they take pride in their mindless tutelage. Media too is to blamed for this exploitive form of child entertainment. If you see, most of the advertisements these days have children in them, making it impossible for the parents to ignore their demands. This is smart advertising but at what cost, no one knows or cares.

Children today behave as if they have a chip on their shoulders, making it impossible even for an adult to stand on the same ground. They talk like well trained brats of senseless wit and retort, at times pushing the limits of entertainment, turning it into plain embarrassment. Children are identified with their innocence and when they lose it to age they are termed as adults. But these days, children have a different story to tell. They are giving nightmares to adults, taking a jig shot at them, irrespective of the age difference, and not minding to pull them down mercilessly for entertainment's sake.

Fame introduced at a young age has it's own after effects. Parents need to understand that their child's life is not a platform to live their own unfulfilled dreams. Exposing these young talents to opportunities is very good indeed, but ensure to safe guard them from turning into a self-proclaimed ego filled useless child prodigies. By instigating them to come in front of the camera, we are exposing their very innocence to unforgiving and unwanted realities of life. In today's highly competitive world, children are the newest pawns of parent's power play. They put their children to the acid tests of mindless games of power and politics, betraying them of a simple, yet fun filled childhood. Is it worth it?

Let them be children and behave like one. They have a long way to go to take a pot shot at life. Let them enjoy the benefits that comes from being a child first, rather than playing a part of an early bloomed worthless adult. Teach them the correct values of living rather than sowing the seeds of mindless and aggressive competition, right from infancy. Teach them to talk, and at the same time, teach them to listen more. Teach them to lose and learn, rather than just to win and outrun. What they learn now will be the building blocks of  a valuable tomorrow.

Our future lies with today's children, and we don't want them to turn into a generation of heavy headed and egotistic individuals, set to ruin the future of our nation. Children are one third of our population and all of our future. Please treat them the way they ought to be treated - as children; so they grow to be fine level headed adults.

In peace,

S.R