About the Book

Televisions, smartphones, internet, social media are all horribly addictive and the Covid pandemic has doubled the online presence of children. The WHO says, ‘Digital disorders are hugely under-recognised in India’. According to Rajesh Sagar of AIIMS Delhi, ‘It is fast emerging as India’s newest lifestyle disease’. Digital games, advertisements and reality shows are dangerous for a growing mind. The Government of India has banned online games like PUBG, Blue Whale, sites like Tik Tok. The Government of Karnataka has even banned online classes for children up to class five. This book is an attempt to flag the dangers and provide some suggestions on how to combat digital dependence. No teaching formula or A1 model can accommodate multiple diversities at the grassroots level. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience offers a SHUT (Services for Healthy Use of Technology) clinic for internet addiction. This needs to be created across the nation. The advertisers know the young are consumers. They are not bothered about how the ad impacts children, especially when there is no actual regulator and no parental bodies, nor teacher groups. No ‘Truth about Technology’ lobbies here. Rules need to be implemented. If Daag achche hain, then why teach children to be neat and clean?

About The Book

In India, the socio-economic system generally ignores mental health of children. Neither parents, nor the teachers, nor the government acknowledge that every child, irrespective of caste, colour, class or creed is entitled to equity, justice, opportunity and affection. When the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore began its first Community Mental Health Movement, author Malavika Kapur was a part of it, approaching the schools with the aim of sensitising teachers to mental health of children. In Ayurveda, the total support for the woman and child before and after birth is an extraordinarily well-thought out social practice. The samskaras provide for stage-wise development of the child. India’s tradition say, 7-11 is the phase to begin scholastic activities. In multilingual India, only English is the upwardly mobile language. Strangely, India is adopting a system that is neither Indian nor Western where her 135 million children are at risk. Malavika and her colleagues found that teachers were neither interested, nor motivated to help children by promoting their psychosocial development. Their sole interest was in promoting academic performance.

After assessment and assistance programmers with 10,000 urban school children, 1500 rural children and about 2000 tribal children, the NIMHANS teams came up with a set of conclusions.

Children in India, even from well-to-do families, are surrounded by adverse conditions. In homes as well as schools. Home, school, society, knowingly or unknowingly, compromise a child’s mental health and growth. India has forgotten the lessons from her scriptures and legends. That children come with three kinds of temperaments. That reading and writing before the prescribed age (about 6 years) for Vidya arambh is WRONG. There is a right time for everything. That a child’s language skills develop best from three years on and Indians have a natural gift which is ignored. There is almost no PLAY, only learning by rote and too much of emphasis on technology, television and mobile phones. Keeping all these issues in mind, this book asks WHAT’S THE HURRY. It tells parents and teachers: Give The Child Time to Grow the Play-Way. LET CHILDREN BE CHILDREN.