Of Lost Innocence and Violent Culture

By Florine Roche

Oct 23: It is a common retort from parents that kids these days get on to their nerves for varied reasons. Mischievous but tolerant pranks and usual naughtiness is a part of childhood life and that is considered normal. Sadly, this is the age of lost innocence, where normality is getting replaced by juvenile crimes, violence, increasing suicides, drug abuse, laziness, obesity, murder for ransom, lack of respect for others and so on. It is commonplace to see even young kids studying in lower primary mouthing bad words especially with their classmates or neighboring playmates at the slightest opportunity and even exhibit violent streaks of mind for petty reasons.

Where is our younger generation heading to? Who is to be blamed - the parents or the schools where children tend to spend a major part of their formative years or the society we live in? It is true our society is becoming increasingly intolerant and the same is reflected in our kids also. While home is the first school for children school is the second home for them as children tend to spend a lot of their active time in schools. What they learn during these formative years will play a decisive role in shaping the future lives of our children.

While this is not an attempt to indulge in the blame game, it has to be borne in mind that children even in LKG and UKG and in lower primary schools get exposed to violent words and incidents, knowingly or unknowingly. Many parents and even teachers may not be able to realize the gravity of the situation and the need to curb such a tendency which may have the potential of developing violent behavior among children as they grow up.

Rhymes & Violence

Just have a look at this nursery rhyme and it is easy to understand how the young and impressionable minds are taught to develop an ‘I don’t care kind of attitude’ and also to be insensitive.

Piggy on the Railway
Picking up stones;
Down came an engine,
And broke Piggy’s bones. ‘Ah !’ said Piggy,
“That’s not fair,”
“Oh !” said the engine driver,
“I don’t care !”
 
Similarly the popular Kannada poem ‘Peddana Hendthi’, where the man sets his sleeping wife on fire thinking she was dead, is another example of how crude and thoughtless our education can get.
 
There must be many more rhymes of this nature which children learn when they are in nursery or primary school. Needless to say these rhymes are insensitive and they deprecate humanity. A constant dosage of teaching that gives the students a hint of violence is sure to desensitize children as they grow up and this insensitivity is reflected in the form of intolerance pettifogging and violence.

Agreed! Today’s children are energetic, dynamic, over smart, restless, cranky, aggressive, hyperactive, abrasive, talented, gifted, impatient, rude, intelligent, brave – all rolled into one. They are also masters in the art of bullying their parents and teachers just as they are adroit in making new inventions and progress. It is said that a variety of negative behavior such as bullying and violence will have negative effect on their learning process and may have deleterious impact on their own lives and that of the society.

Cartoons – Major Culprits?

It is not just the nursery rhymes or poems that give a liberal dose of violence to children. For a long time cartoons and violent games have been the major culprits perverting the minds of the kids through violence. When it comes to video games it is no secret that a large percentage of players of the video games are children. They are glued to their TV or computers for hours together neglecting everything else at the risk of their health.

Cartoons have been perpetrating the minds of kids who become impervious to the society and the happenings around them. Some of the popular cartoons like Tom & Jerry, Spongebob or the WWF Show on TV promote violence in its worst form.

Shalini Aiyappa, counselor and Assist Professor of Psychology at St Aloysius College, Mangalore says “when children are exposed to aggressive information they are likely to take it as they see it. Nursery rhymes are all about rote learning and the impact will be considerably less. Whereas the consequences of cartoons with their visual effects are causative in nature and therefore the impact is more severe”.

A cartoon like Tom & Jerry cartoons boasts of a fan following even among the grownups who dote on the wild frolics of the cat and the mouse even as they chase, outsmart and outwit each other to the maximum. That doesn’t mean that these cartoons are perfect for viewing for young kids because smashing heads, squeezing necks, throwing bombs, setting fire, banging doors, pouring hot water, hammering, knocking off teeth, distorting face etc., is part and parcel of these cartoons. What a parody, that all this is done in the name of entertainment!

Says Shalini Aiyappa “it is not always possible for parents sit with their children while watching cartoons to explain them the right and the wrong. Children learn a lot through imitation and observation and that is why cartoons are the major culprits which beget impudence and violence among children”.

Parents who are really concerned about the wellbeing of their children should be equally concerned about the undertones of violence in these cartoons. This is necessary because young minds are not capable of differentiating between reality and imaginary and therein lay the real trouble.

Recently in India, there has been a spate of criminal incidents involving young children. The recent incident leading to the death of Ansh, by educated young men from well-off families, the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Shubham Shirke by his own classmates, are grim reminders of the reality that we are faced with involving young criminals. If we do not want to see the ghastly gun culture invading our country and consume our children we have to work in unison. The government, parents and the society as a whole will have to work with renewed vigor to ensure that we leave behind a healthy society.