When they are really tiny, you swaddle them in blankets so that their hands and feet are kept away from scratching their own faces. You protect them as you must, tiny, fragile things that they are. When they are a little older and start crawling, you are always keeping an eye on them to prevent them from falls and bumps. It is another matter that they find just the right moment when you were doing something else to get hurt. And then they grow older and discover the telly. You try and keep their TV time restricted substituting with play in the park , stories and fun activities. You want them to continue believing in fairy tales for as long as possible.
And then they join school, sometimes as early as 3 years. And then no matter what you do, your warm blanket of protection is just too small. They are exposed to children and world outside at large. They now start picking up the songs that you watch on TV, in movies or on radio. Thus, we find innocent 3 or 4 year olds gyrating to vulgar (bachkana) steps on stage in school or in your apartment complex. The blasted Bollywood ditties especially of the sickening vulgar kinds are everywhere. Whenever I have attended a school day or any other function, I feel disturbed that teachers these days use Bollywood dance and jhatka matka on innocent children. When I go back to my childhood, I remember dancing to the tunes of traditional Maharashtrian Koli or folk songs. My music teacher taught us classics from Sounds of Music and other age appropriate songs.
Then, your children grow older. They watch news and read newspapers. They browse the net. They play on the play fields with other older children. Their horizons widen. Their curiosities peak. You are no longer their frame of reference. They want to be in with the crowd and to speak cool lingo peppered with abuses. They are exposed to issues and topics that they should not have been at such a tender age. I have faced this confusion, this bewilderment and sometimes shock when I hear something really terrible from my younger son’s mouth. That he tags along with big brother who often plays with older kids explains it.
My elder son is very open in his communication. There is no topic on earth that he cannot discuss with me, and I hope it always stays that way. But sometimes, I am dumbfounded how to approach certain adult topics with him. I can’t go too much in depth because he is still young, yet I wish to be as open with him as possible. That striking of balance is a constant struggle that each parent who has kids growing up faces.
As a society, we are terribly insensitive and not in tune with what the children must be exposed to. So we find that programs with adult content are aired late at night as a precaution but then the same stuff get re-aired during day time. Many grandparents sit and watch regressive soaps and serials with grandchildren, unknowingly filling the children’s minds with rubbish. Then there are the terrible reality shows that show high drama, crying and breaking apart if a silly show is not won. The participants keep getting younger. And don’t think that cartoon channels are any better. Have you seen the ads that get aired there? And the programs have so much violence. I had to ban a couple of shows for my kids as they used offensive language and openly ridiculed parents. Sit with your child sometimes and watch what he/she watches and you will know. We hardly have a genre of good children’s movies in India. And the other Hindi movies frankly, I don’t take my kids to. Even those that are U rated they have excessive violence, raunchy songs and concepts that a child’s mind must not be exposed to.
And all those Bollywood classes that parents take their kids to with pride teach them steps and lyrics that are too crude. Maybe I am way too sensitive or this society of ours is desensitized completely.
You will be surprised to know the topics of conversation of children these days. Even computer labs in school that have internet have no privacy settings. So, you can see what the internet savvy kids of today may do with that. Teachers have no training to handle the children of today who are brighter and definitely have more exposure to information and inappropriate information.
As a parent, I try to be honest while also watching my children’s backs. I openly share with them stories of child abuse or anything pertinent to them. They don’t live in a rosy society and it is important to tell them to be vigilant. But as a parent, I am still hanging onto the last threads to keep their innocence intact for as long as possible.
After all, childhood will not last forever!
Rachna says 
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