“Children are great imitators. Let us show them things that are worth imitating.”
First day in school after the New Year
I entered my 4th grade class the other day and greeted my students. I am their English Teacher.
Me-Namaskar Everyone!
Students-Namaskar Ma’am.
Me-Please sit down. Happy New Year to all of you!
Students– Happy New Year Ma’am.
Me-Well, how did you all celebrate the New Year?
Student X – “Ma’am, I watched Salar Movie”
Me– “What! I heard that it was an adult movie and that they were not allowing children to watch it”. I added “My neighbours went to a multiplex with their kids, both below ten years. They had to come back because the theatre people did not allow the kids.”
Me-How did you watch it?
Student X– “Ma’am, we didn’t go to a multiplex, we went to a normal theatre near my house”.
Student Y-(Proudly) Ma’am, I watched “Animal”. (Animal is a recent movie with a lot of controversies going around and mind you it is has received Adults Only certification – indicating that movie is intended for audiences older than 18)
I generally started talking with students and asked,
Me– “What do you enjoy the most in movies?”
Students-(Unanimously) – The fight scenes, actions, stunts and songs.
This hit me…
I realised, we have children who exhibit violent behaviour in class and in school. They harm themselves and others in the class. Throwing tantrums, yelling, shouting and not being able to handle their emotions is becoming a way of life. Children as young as 7 years are using foul language, when we ask, “Where did you learn it from, the answer is obvious “Movies or Web Series”.
I seriously wonder what parents think? If you think, “it is just a movie, my child will watch it and forget it”, I am sorry to tell you, you are in a bubble. The movie will have some impact on the child. Remember imitation is a powerful way of learning for children, as they observe and reproduce the behaviour of those around them. It has a definite influence on their vocabulary, comprehension and behaviour.
Not just this – there are some responsible parents who do not expose children to such movies or web series at home. Those children are now influenced at school by the ones who have watched adult movies. The language is shared and there is peer pressure on the children who have not been exposed. We now have a challenge to handle this – totally unwanted, and completely created situation because of a casual approach by a few parents.
I urge all the parents to restrict their children from watching the content meant for adults. We live in a digital age where there is no control on the content that is freely available on the internet. This digital bombardment of information is causing anxiety, depression, scare and fear like never before. They are unable to handle themselves and eventually will end up like the characters in those movies.
Please monitor what they watch, instead spend time with them, play with them, read with them, talk to them, tell them stories and listen to their stories. I know as parents we need some kind of entertainment and movies are a good source of entertainment. If you really want to watch a “A, PG-13, NC-17 certified movies, please do not take your kids along. Make arrangements to leave them at home or plan such events when you have someone to take care of them.
We want our students to be global citizens when they foray into the big bad world, we are teaching them values so that they can handle the complexities of the world better when they grow up. School alone cannot do it without your support and cooperation, please step up for your child and, let them be kids and enjoy their childhood.
“Cinema will always have an important role to play in society. But let us not give it a chance to define our children’s lives!”
