How safe are our children?

KOCHI: As we all get geared to celebrate Children’s Day the ground reality remains that there is no shrinkage in the number of crimes against children. They still remain the most vulnerable group subjected to physical and emotional abuse. According to Dr C J John, psychiatrist, there is a rise in the number of children who come to correct conduct disorders. “Parents bring the children to rectify some problems like disobedience, laziness and scholastic backwardness. A part of such behavioural disorders can be tracked back to emotional or sexual abuse,” he says. He also adds that the family support mechanism which should nurture the emotional development of the child is missing. “Actually we are living in a world of cultural pollution. The parameters have changed and now children lead an academically oriented life that probably leaves out the emotional dimension. The fact that children no more live like children leaves a terrible effect on the overall development of their personality. We are stealing their childhood through a lot of academics,” he says. Another area of concern is that  children are being exposed to mass media and peer learning. “They generally lack life skills. They are unable to cope with stress and their frustration tolerance is very low. As a result they tend to show emotional disorders that are slightly out of proportion to what a child should do,” says the doctor. The panic-stricken calls Childline gets each day also attest to the fact that the number of children in need of emotional support is on the rise. “The majority of children call for emotional support, but cases of sexual abuse also come. But instead of keeping it a secret and leaving the child in trauma, parents now come forward and report such cases which is a welcome sign,” says M P Antony of Childline.