Childhood in crisis - pressures on today's children.

(Swain.R, n.d, retrieved from

 )

     As nobody is much concerned about the children thinking and attitude, the levels of depression and antisocial behavior in children have increased dramatically in modern societies. This situation has led people to believe that childhood itself is in crisis. The reasons for this are discussed in the upcoming paragraphs.

    The first reason I should mention is a child’s personal relations especially with the parents. In the near past there was a very good tradition of family mealtimes. All the family sits together at the dining table and besides enjoying meal they also learn about each other’s routine and daily experiences. Everyone discusses his problems with head of the family to get his suggestions and guidance. Such traditional home routines are disappearing in the modern society. Now head of the family is so busy in his hectic routine that he does not have time to spend with his family. Children like to have their meal on sofas in front of TV screens. Parents are often absent from home, enjoying late night functions and parties and are disinterested in the matter that their child is taking interest in what kind of activities. Children have full access to all TV channels and internet. A very bad aspect is that children belonging to rich families have separate TV and computer in their bedrooms and parents do not keep an eye what kind of things they are watching because their working hours interfere with family life. Children are spending more time alone. They are more interested in playing computer games rather than playing in playground. There is no fixed bedtime. This is really an alarming situation.

      Another reason for a child’s stress is today’s more competitive society than any other in the past.  It is expected from children that they should behave like an adult. The parents want to see their child as what they want to be. They do not want to know what he likes and dream about. They want him to be like the neighbour’s child. They compare him with other members of his age but forget that every person is unique and born with different abilities. They do not realize his qualities and appreciate his talents. They want him to be the first prize winner in every competition. Similarly at school there is more and more testing and exams that children do not find time for themselves. Teachers want the student to learn and memorize each and every word of the textbook. They are not concerned about their level of understanding and are only interested in grades and marks. Pressure from parents, teachers and friends to succeed and achieve is a cause of depression in children. It is a natural thing that no one can excel in every field or at something in which one is not interested, but society never understands this fact.

     In the end I will say that in order to save childhood, everyone especially parents have to take responsibility to understand and solve the problems faced by children. We have to give our children a depression free life for a healthy society as children are our future.