OUR CHILDREN NEED US NOT OUR PHONES

Posted on March 11, 2019 Updated on March 11, 2019

The difference between information and knowledge is a simple one. Our internet is one hotchpotch of information always brimming with news and advertisements widely available for people of all ages but sadly incomplete in its context. Whereas knowledge is an accumulation of material backed by   sound evidences and strong facts and figures. For example information is that you know Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan but knowing why a capital is needed, what makes it different from the rest of the cities, its importance etc make you a knowledgeable person. 

But yes we get knowledgeable with time and age. As we grow in our maturity and rationale we tend to understand the whereabouts of things. No information is good if learned before time because our minds are either not ready to grasp it or in the inquisitiveness to know more we dig deeper and end up landing where we shouldn’t be. 

Hence we say that incomplete information is worse than no information. Which is the epidemic plaguing our children today. Because with gadgets in their hands they have the access to all sort of incomplete information available on the internet. Even if our children are just watching cartoons, always remember these advertisements and pop-ups in between leave a subliminal message on their minds that might not be apparent but they get stored in our children behavioral repertoire.

The little time that we get with our children is sulked on our mobile phones and them on thiers. Such is the vicious cycle nowadays where neither of the party disturbs the either. Whereas now when there’s so much of obscenity and vulgarity everywhere a parents’ duty, with the time and attention that they can give to their children, is to act as strong protectors and guiders teaching their children better approaches towards this rising dogma of our society. But sadly be it parents or grandparents, these cell phones have hijacked every age group in its impression.

We should realize the fact that giving time to our children is a necessity, for us as it strengthen our bond with them and for the kids as well because the level of ease that they can share their thoughts with the parents they can’t do it with anyone else.  

If seen on a daily basis our children’s mornings are spent studying at the school and evenings are gone hopping in and out, attending their tuition classes. This sadly robs off the children from the time they could have got with their parents and grandparents at home. Because discussing issues and problems with parents and being nurtured under their guidance is a vital aspect of a child’s mental and cognitive growth and be which certainly cannot be done by their phones.

And the following is what happens when children are left on their own, without any check and balance

A friend narrated Last month passing by a store, I saw a boy looked like in his early teens staring at a model over a fashion magazine’s cover page. The facial expression and those puzzled eyes left me stunned because he was dazzled with what he saw, I was awe struck and more than that baffled at the mother who didn’t know what was happening because she was busy snap chatting herself.

Similarly a friend of mine, who is also a teacher conducted a mini survey at her class in an evening school where the students between the age of 10-13 were supposed to write all that what was going on in their minds but without disclosing their identities. Confident of never being found out by anyone they explicitly jotted all down. One of them was just sulking reading stories of sexual harrasement on the internet and started fearing and doubting all the male members of her family, the other wanted to go back home and try crystal meth with her friends because they have started enjoying it, the other loved binge watching a Netflix series which is by far the filthiest one aired on TV, and one of them filled more than two pages with the number of bad words he has learned in due time. 

In an age when the kids are learning and the mind is more propelled towards learning new things and exploring new ideas they should be fed with the right amount of information so that the inquisitiveness is channelized to a better direction that is healthy for their mind. Instead of getting strangled in such a labyrinth of strange and puzzled thoughts.

It is certainly alarming if our kids are being exposed to such content at such a young age. Because working tirelessly day in day out just to pay for a decent keep up of the family is of no use when the child lacks a parents’ attention

Not just the kids but all of the elderly members of the society will have to play a role here. Our time and attention is the foundation on which our children build their trust and take forward the values and attention that we give them. Or else they just grow on their own with the raw and unfiltered information they are getting from the internet which they process on their own, and do as they like.

Time should be divided wisely between our work and our families. If children are glued to their screens then so are the parents. Children need our attention and a parents’ filter is the best filter that makes a child learn how to shed off the unnecessary that they are exposed to and what should be retained in their minds. Obviously, on a practical basis parents cannot be with the kids always but trust me the stronger the foundation is laid the more difficult it gets for the external pressure to sway the building. Our children are precious!