The mind of a child is an empty slate according to Tabula Rasa theory, and therefore all knowledge is gained through experiences.The question,hence,arises that children in the era of pandemic perceive what kind of world. Are they not forced to limit their sensory receptors that assist and form basis in the understanding of the world? Children in houses are being taught to suppress their desires which include exploration of society, learning from nature and playing with peers.They are restricted to approach and sense physically, anything outside their homes.It is true that these are preventive measures to protect them from the pandemic,but it has transmogrified their psychology grotesquely.
Scepticism is healthy but that is learnt with the help of rational tools that include logical reasoning and scientific understanding.It is a continuous process that can't be taught mechanically in the nascent age.Childhood is conceived as the period of innocence and William Blake's Songs of Innocence weave 'unfallen world's of innocence that is full of pleasure and joy of paradise.This innocence is under the coercive shade of radical scepticism that is harming the confidence of small children to such an extent that it will make doubting as only principle in their lives. It will create a dent in their confidence for sure.
The terms like social distancing, isolation, lockdown, quarantine centres do not carry positive meaning with themselves as nobody wants to enjoy them.The impact these terms create on children need analysis and research.Children are being taught to explore the world through different mythical stories, parables and fables;and in all these moral stories we treat humans as social animals whose limit is beyond sky whether physical or mental.But today,these stories look like historical metafictions to us that depict world which is a distant -historic world of pre-COVID era.
Children today are prone to domestic violence as their elders are facing extreme psychological distress due to lockdown.People are losing jobs, uncertainty about the future employability is grave and dismal,and limiting oneself at home amidst these anxieties can have a negative impact on children. They can face abuses and grudges for the causes that are not produced by them.The unpeaceful atmosphere in the houses is a serious issue as we can not leave our future in the depressed and tyrant atmosphere.It is evident that children are among the most vulnerable and marginalized section in the era of COVID-19.
To approach with doubt and ask question is scientific model of understanding but to doubt and remain in fear is a curse that children are experiencing today. The threat to life is so big that emotional proximity has not been given space to nurture within self.When a son denies the cremation of his father to protect himself from Corona Virus,we can sense the level of fear that the world today possesses.If young and healthy are in such fear, the working of fear psychosis among children can be assessed easily.It is being instructed to stay at home,an unprecedented war is going on;what violent results will it have on the minds of our children needs serious pondering.
Children are being forced to use technology to study and play online without any proper arrangements to curb the cyber- crimes that can victimize these innocent minds to an extent that their psychological recovery will not be possible later.In pre-COVID era,elders have tried best to protect their children from the perils of social media.Today their children spend most of their time exposing themselves to many uncensored sites that are not conducive for their development.Proximity to internet is unprecedented in this pandemic era and our understanding and preparation to deal with the negative aspects of internet is still very less.
The attack on childhood by the COVID-19 raises some fundamental questions and serious reconsiderations in our approach to history and economics.Historians have assessed pre history of 200,000years as unconstructive and insignificant in terms of human development.History of human civilization begins with the agricultural development and achieves it's pinnacle during the age of Industrial revolution.Since then, our approach is forward looking, that always followed the imperialist ideals of the British regime.It blatantly rejected any direct association of human civilization with nature.
Consequently, the present generation of our children is forced to accept the curse which their forefathers have cultivated for them.Our children now have to familiarize themselves with the new novel sufferings that include environmental grief and climate depression; bioterrorism and disease mutations.It is the present and the future of our children that is built on the reckless industrial adventurism and that has left no space for any other kind of adventure to our children.
'The Child is the Father of Man's is a phrase composed by William Wordsworth in 1802 and now if we understand it in the present context, we can feel the future of humanity.It will be based on doubt,mistrust,persistent threat to life and the habit of self-protection to a level of obsession.We can hope for the good but the present scenario and our over enthusiasm to adopt techno culture will lead us to the place from where it will be difficult to return.
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