Our childhoods were filled with paperback books with fantastic characters. I still remember the enchanting times I experienced, when every character came alive in my mind.
It is commonly believed that the perception skills displayed by young children do not merely suggest roots of later literacy, but also act as building blocks in the development of the child’s capacity to comprehend complex relationships and reasoning. In other words, the process of imagination helps to increase a child’s understanding of real life, and increases his or her ability to communicate better.
Every country’s future depends on its children, their education, and how their young minds are being nurtured. Every nation’s dream and hope depends on the children of today and tomorrow. Having said all that, the governments should look into the children’s future; provide them the route to explore their thoughts and ideas while giving them a way to channel their enormous energy.
Children learn from their surroundings or the graphic details of TV programs. A day of outdoor adventure and fun can have greater effect on their minds and learning ability than any conventional day at school.
Today’s children are exposed to bad cartoons and programs on a daily basis that are slowly rotting their beautiful and fragile minds. The mainstream cartoons of today display pointless characters and subject matter. Children’s shows are filled with violence and crime. Children learn from a young age to disrespect their elders and how to skip school.
One such cartoon goes to the extent of showing the everyday life of cockroaches, or the issues of a dog which is also half cat. The strange mix in these cartoons can be harmful to a young one’s understanding of the concept of animals in the first place.
The alarming rate at which children are getting hooked to these dirty cartoons is high. Parents cannot fight it, especially with the nonstop political turbulence confining the children within the boundaries of their small homes. The saddest part for any Bangladeshi parent is that they are facing equal amounts of madness inside and outside their homes. The fight to raise upright and honourable children is getting harder each day.
Children need to use their imaginations. They need to get out of their couches and explore the world. There should be science centres in the city where they can go and spend an entire day learning new things. The government-funded children’s parks can be extended, cleaned, and upgraded to meet the standards of today.
The countless low-quality private English medium schools with no playing fields, springing up like mushrooms all over the different cities of the nation, should not be allowed to do business. These harmful teaching institutions have proliferated solely driven by the profit motive, and do not hold, in any way, even the minimum intention to nurture and cultivate young minds.
Schools should allow children to be introduced to varied subjects so that they are able to discover their gifts, rather than be forced to study things that do not nurture them. Athletics, music, dance, and art need to be introduced at an early age to nourish these young minds.
Children may even find their natural but hidden talent amongst these options. They may discover their flair while playing in the fields, swimming in the pools, or experimenting in the confines of the chemical labs at schools.
Recreation camps can be opened for children, where they can be engaged in outdoor activities and realise their dreams and potential for the future.
What we need to realise is that these very kids that we nurture today will be the prime ministers, the presidents, leaders, and light-bearers of the days to come. Surely, we want people better than us to rule this society in the future. We want to see our country progressing, not falling back. For that, we need to rethink how we are enlightening the kids, and take proactive action.
