A bamboo hut !

While visiting a nature park recently, I found this bamboo hut in the corner of the park. Although many families with their children walked past this corner, I did not find anyone wanting to climb and explore the panorama from this height! It mad eye wonder as to why this did not include in the active exploration of the visitors. I overheard parents telling their child, who was keen to climb, 'it is steep and you might fall down'! I felt rather surprised by it. Although I had just climbed and descended this  hut, that strange thought did not cross my mind! 

While in another part of the park, where there were climbing frame, sea-saw, swing, etc. there were man  families with their children taking time to explore those play equipment. The children played on their own while parents sat watching them!

This made me curious. On conversing with a few families about this contrasting behaviour, I found that the height frightened some families and risk of falling was in the mind of some others. 

What is childhood, unless we encourage them to overcome fears, most of which are imaginations anyway. I wonder we instil fear in the minds of children! One comment I often hear when parents come to consult me, while their children reach out to play with the peg board, etc in the room, 'sit quiet, otherwise the doctor would get angry'! Having heard this so many times, I wanted to get to the root of this belief system parents carry with them. Why should a child sit quiet, when the whole room is a place to explore! 

I have a suspicion that, parents are not conditioned to answer the several questions that children raise that it is easier for them if their children are relatively quiet. It is for the same reason, many parents still do not consider getting as many toys a possible for children to occupy or explore. If they do not have toys, won't they gravitate towards mobile phones, Television, I-pad, etc!  Even parents might be comfortable with this as children will be fully engrossed with the cartoon without any conversations!

I grew up in an environment, where conversations and engagements were encouraged in active form between children and others. I come across children who have stagnation of language skills around 2 years because they have spent considerable time in 'silence' watching cartoons!

Childhood is a time meant active exploration and interactive communication action! Let us foster this!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)