Childhood! What a beautiful phase of life it was, indeed.

Life then, especially, our life as students is something that we all look back at and envy our old selves for. Such were the joys that every moment is forever etched beautifully in our minds. We embodied innocence, mischief and discipline in the right ratio.

For us, school life was about waking up to chirping birds, having our parents dote and fuss over us while getting on with their everyday chores, heart-warming breakfasts, warmer good-bye hugs, a brief walk or a short ride to school. At school, it was about sharing joys and making friends and memories.

And jumping around everywhere as if we owned the place. Once school ended, we’d finish our home works and rush to the nearest playgrounds, only to return home when dusk fell.

Unlike the kids these days, we lived our childhood. Well…. Kids these days are definitely smarter and more tech savvy than we were. But,somewhere down the line, they do not get to enjoy what we did. They do not get to live, in the real sense, as we did. The pattern today has changed. They are programmed to live, according to someone else’s wishes.

As days pass and technology progresses, life should have become easier. While books are an essential part of schooling, they do not necessarily constitute the whole part of it. However, this notion is not something our system has come to accept.

We cram their bags with books weighing more than what they can carry, both literally and metaphorically. While existing policies mandate that 5 kg is the uppermost limit on weight of school bags for Class 11 & Class 12 students, we let a Class 3 child carry the same, every day.

Of course, while we do this, we fail to notice the ill-effects we ourselves are promoting.

• Due to the heavy load on the back and also due to the change in movement and posture patterns there is an increased risk of causing severe neck and backaches.
• The strain on the neck muscles may again lead to headache ,shoulder pain, arm pain ete.
• The straps of the backpacks, which are carrying a heavy burden, cause muscular soreness.
• Children’s shoulders and upper backs might become fatigued from wearing such backpacks on a regular basis and there is imminent risk oflosing posture and balance.

And this baggage doesn’t restrict itself to weight. While the physical baggage is this risky, the mental baggage we impose harms more. We cram their brains, wanting to hold our heads high. We turn their friends into their competitors. We ask them to go beyond their capabilities. We make them learn what we want them to learn – dance, music, instruments, abacus, sports, and more subjects. All without asking them if it is something they want to learn. We impose upon them. Because for us “status’ matters more.

And in the process, we fail to notice that their dreams are being crushed under our thumbs. We fail to see innocence melting away and walls building around their hearts. We fail to notice them becoming dispirited and mechanical, We fail because we are too busy to care – for our own children. And when hell breaks loose, we blame them, yet again

It is high time we realise that children’s mental health matters, as much as ours does.

And their dreams do,too. This children’s day, let us all pledge to let our children live more and worry less. Unless, their well-being is something we consider inferior to our status…