Children's day
Childhood stories change with generation
but the innocence of those days remains the same, Pritha Banerjee reminiscences
while we celebrate Children’s Day
No classes, fancy dress, treats from
teachers, and Chacha Nehru… the thoughts that come to mind whenever someone
talks about Children’s Day. If you are in school, this is the best day of the
year. Over a period of time, the celebrations for this day have changed a lot.
Not just that, being a 21st-century child is a big task. I am not just talking
about the highly competitive environment created for them to excel in the
classroom, on the sports field, and at extra-curricular activities. I am
talking about gadgets called smartphones and space called the internet.
The day through ages
Children’s Day is celebrated in India on
November 14, which is also the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of
India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Universal Children’s Day is celebrated on November 20,
as it marks the anniversary when UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of
the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1990). Thus, Children’s Day is basically a celebration to increase awareness of
the rights, care, and education of children, worldwide.
As the saying goes, ‘there is a child in
each one of us’ even this day holds a special place in everyone’s heart. For a
30-year-old, Rahul Lahkar, “Children’s Day is all about fun. It used to be one
of those days when you didn’t have to study. The teachers used to get cup-cakes
and stationeries to gift us.” On the other hand, 65-year-old, Puspa Banerjee
remembers, “On Children’s Day, we got red roses and were told that it was
Chacha Nehru’s favorite flower.” Talha Siddiqui, a 23-year-old writer, says, “I
won a lot of prizes on this day. Our school used to conduct many competitions
on this day.”
The popularity of this day only started in
the 1980s and the way it is celebrated has changed over a period of time.
Aparupa Banerjee, a pre-school teacher, feels, “The students need to know about
the historical significance of this day. Apart from fancy dress and treats for
the children, we are also conducting a session to teach them about Jawaharlal
Nehru.”
A 21st-century child
There is no doubt that the change in
technology has made our life easier, but at the same time has dramatically
transformed how we live our day-to-day lives. The children are most affected as
they are introduced in a world where technological advancements are the norm.
Nikki Shroff, a blogger, says, “If you look at our parents’ generation,
technology was limited to color TV and record players. We really had the
advantage as we came up in an era just before technology exploded and created
this whole new medium including social media so there was no pressure. It was
the absolute perfect time to be a kid.”
Most of the parents don’t have the time to
spend with their demanding child and enter smartphone to rescue. “With every
piece of technology that you assign your child — each one is a new source of
notifications and distraction — the more distracted he/she becomes,” says Veena
Sharma, a child psychiatrist.
Looking at the bright side; we have opened
doors to various innovative careers. Gone are those days when children wanted
to become a doctor or teachers, today’s children want to explore more in the
profession. Through a survey conducted by a travel firm, First Choice 1000 kids
were asked what they wanted to become, around 35 percent of them said
Youtubers. Most of them wanted to be in creative and innovative career paths
like blogging, music, acting, photography etc.
It’s all fast-forward
Life changed as we moved from books to
kindle, newspaper to iPad and Sony Walkman to iPod. While one generation begged
to go outdoors to have a good time, this generation will barely look up from
the screen unless the place was on fire. The thing is that video game
violence gives kids ideas about how to handle specific situations instead of
using their words.
They prefer living in the virtual world
more than in the real world. Unlike old times, popularity these days is easily
measured in followers, likes, and retweets. “The popularity contests revolve
around how many ‘likes’ you get. A low number of ‘likes’ typically translates
into low social status, and possible shaming and bullying. A high number of
‘likes’ translates to the popularity and the pressure to sustain your status,”
claims Veena.
Everything around us is moving so fast
that trends last about a minute-and-a-half and it’s over. That is exactly the
amount of time it takes to create a new web page or download a song. Thus,
makes it easier for this generation to move on, Nikki Shroff says, “For
instance take any boy bands, they just literally come and go at the snap of a
finger and no one seems to care as much. However, I remember when my favorite
‘New Kids on the Block’ broke up, I was around seven or eight years old and it
was as if I had lost a member of my family.”
The speed at which things are changing
these days is described perfectly by a Hollywood movie character Ferris
Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around, you might
miss something.” So it’s time to take off and embrace the child hiding in you
for a day.
Comments
Post a Comment