As the entire nation celebrates Children’s Day, here’s what some of our favourite TV celebs have to say about their memories of childhood. They even talk about how things have changed in today’s times.
November 14 is celebrated as Children's Day in India. The day spreads awareness around the rights, education and welfare of the young ones. Schools and colleges across the country usually hold special events on this day. Looking back, things have changed much in the way it was celebrated before and how it happens now. Our life has also progressed given the technological advancements.
Celebs share their thoughts on how things have changed for kids today and what they think today's kids are missing out on.
We can’t always blame technology for everything. The structure of the family has also changed now. Parents are also busy as they have to earn to provide for their family. I had a wonderful childhood and played a lot of outdoor games. The summer and winter holidays were super fun. I used to wait for that to come so I could go to my Nani's house. Today’s generation is too much into gadgets but during the lockdown, online classes through smart gadgets made things easier for all of us. Today’s kids are getting the best of the technology and it's up to them now and also the parents who need to keep a check on the usage. I just feel the younger generation is missing playing outside on the grounds and going to friends'?places to mingle.
Covid-19 has impacted the lives of billions of children all over the world and has created a massive disruption in every sector including education. During that time only technology helped the entire education system. Today most families are staying in high rises so the kids don’t come out or go down to play. They also have long school hours. So where is the time? I always used to play outside after my school hours and then finish my homework. Personal smartphone availability is also killing the need to explore the outer world physically for the present generation.
When we acknowledge children’s knowledge and experiences, we recognise their important contributions to our families, communities and society. So technology plays a bigger part and we should control the usage. I had a wonderful time growing up. Friends were a very important part of my life back then. Today’s generation has no personal time to mingle and chitchat. They also meet up for movies and eat out a lot more.
Our childhood days were completely different from our kids. We saw mobiles coming up around the age of 20. That’s when we were exposed to connectivity. They are born with mobile phones in their hands. Of course, as parents, we need to work hard and try to create a balance between the digital and the real world because eventually, it’s going to become a thin line and all these people who don't pay attention to this, their child will go another route. It can be negative as well as positive. With technology comes exposure, risks and responsibilities. Teaching responsibility to children at a very young age is difficult and is not easy. Our childhood was different because we had more human interactions and that was the only interaction we understood. Our mistakes were not documented. Little pictures found were memories that we would cherish. In today’s world, everything is out there and it is advanced. I feel children are missing out on nature, and pure food. They are looking at the world through their phones.
Our childhood was so much better. We used to stay in Juhu earlier and then shifted to Lokhandwala. When we shifted, there were 40 children playing downstairs. The entire society was full of children. Some used to play kho-kho or sonsakli and we used to make friends so easily. Even in Juhu, we had amazing friends. This is what is missing in today's children. They are all on their phones, they talk to each other on Instagram, and they are busy posting on social media. There is no human interaction except for the time they spend in school or college. I remember I reached school at 8:30 pm to play volleyball till 9 pm. After three schools I used to go to tuition. I and my friends used to go for our tuition together. Today children are getting very lethargic. Social media has its good parts too. I tell my sister because of the video call I miss you less as we are constantly in touch. When you are not in touch with someone you miss that person. During my childhood, I used to love playing and celebrating festivals together. Every evening we had so much fun. There is no human touch anymore. Every summer vacation we made sure to play badminton from 10 at night till 4 in the morning. My words won't do justice to the feelings I have. At that time we were living in the real world.
There are differences between today's kids and kids from our generation. We are from a generation who learned from their mistakes and today's generation learns about their mistakes via Google. When it comes to family today we can see more nuclear families as compared to joint families like it used to be during earlier times. Now it’s like if there is a vacation, children, instead of enjoying their vacation, join extra classes. There is no harm in learning but the thing is that during such times we went to meet our dada-dadi and nana-nani, our cousins and enjoy as well as learned so much. I feel it does not happen these days. The most memorable thing about my childhood is that I have lived each and every moment. I used to spend time with my dadi and loved gardening. When teachers used to teach anything related to plants I used to know some of them beforehand. Now it’s like children google it and gain knowledge.
Technology has its pros and cons. When I was a child there was no technology except for telephones. We used to wait for that one phone call to come. I remember how excited I was when that first ring rang in my home. Before that, I used to go to a khadoos uncle’s house to make phone calls. There was much sense of achievement back then because everything was not given to us on a platter, we had to earn everything. Even after I got married I used to use the phone which my husband was using. Children these days get everything on a platter. I feel that we used to value things as a child. But kids these days don't have much value. Small happiness also meant a lot to us. We used to have Sundays to come so that we could eat something special. Now with Swiggy and Zomato, they can order any time. Everything is easily accessible. I really cherished my childhood. If in some way we can go back to those days, I would like to relive those moments again.
I am a 90’s kid and never had access to mobile phones or social media and we used to wait to talk to our friends on the landline. We used to maintain our decorum in front of our parents and were never out of control. I was always good at sports, co-curricular activities and studies. Today’s kids are advanced as at a very young age, they get access to phones and technology. These things have both pros and cons but most of the part is negative because innocence is lost at a very young age. Children these days are missing the fun of playing outdoor games. This generation is completely into their phones and is missing the beautiful part of their childhood life. Western culture has influenced us a lot in many ways.
I think about my childhood and when I see kids these days are constantly on their phones I feel bad for them. We as kids used to go out and play. These days, I don't see anyone playing games like kho-kho, kabaddi etc. Today’s kids don't even have time to do anything. Their parents have made them join extra classes and whatnot. We also used to do our studies and then go out to play but now kids don't engage in such things. It's not the kids' fault, that’s how times have changed. Also, the time which is left, they are mostly on their phone watching reels and YouTube videos.