Joel Mangboi Haokip
This line which occurs in a poem of William Wordsworth beginning “My heart leaps when I behold” formulate the view that the qualities shown by a child are often indications of what the child is going to be when he grows up to be a man. It is the qualities--physical , mental, and spiritual, which will be found in the grown up man--may be found in germ in the child. It might not be wholly true; yet it is generally true that man grows up to be what he is as a child.
As Milton says:
The childhood shows the man,
As morning shows the day.
But the utmost need of the child to bring up in the way he should be is, to impart training in the right way. Every child is unique in his own way. As the Scripture tells us, “Train up the child in the way he should go”. This clearly indicates that the habits and traits of a man are often only the development of the habits and traits he had as a child. It is pertinent to bring him up in the ways of honesty and uprightness, as a child brought up in surroundings that encourage filthy habits will most probably retain the filthy habits throughout life. The early training of a child is a matter of supreme importance. Just as the twig is bent, the tree inclined.
While we talk about the need of proper training of a child in the early period, one cannot ignore the basic needs and the environment where the child is being brought up. To have a look at the present condition, one may obviously argue that enough is not being done for the children of our State is evident from such disturbing features like infant mortality, child morbidity, child malnutrition, childhood disability, child abuse, child labour, child marriage; juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, the broken homes and the like. A great literary figure has said that ‘his name is today’ meaning that the basic needs of the child cannot be postponed. His need for milk; nutritious food, care of the mother, schooling, appropriate Medicare cannot be postponed. In other words, if we neglect the care of children, we are jeopardising the future of the society.
At every stage the child needs the loving care of the family and society. In the prenatal and impressionable years of childhood the child require proper immunisation, preventive health care, nutrition, proper weaning, love and security. For a child to be healthy, the mother too has to be healthy. Where the incidence of maternal mortality is high, the mother is anaemic and the infants die before they rise to see their first birthday. It should be presumed that the state and the community are not doing their duty towards neither the mothers nor their children. The fact that there is still poor enrolment in elementary education and that many dropout of schools for reasons of poverty or burdensome and lacklustre curriculum makes millions of children ill-equipped to face the responsibilities of the future. Poverty of their parents and our failure to make elementary education a universal phenomenon has helped spawn the ugly phenomenon of child labour. India has the dubious distinction of producing the largest child labour force in the world. Some of the States including Manipur have introduced mid-day meal schemes to attract poor children to schools and retain them, but still the problem of children staying away from school poses a great challenge.
Indiahas around 157.86 million children below the age of six years constituting 15.37 percent of its population. Following the adoption of the National Policy for Children in 1974, the ambitious scheme of integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was launched in 1975. The scheme provides a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check-up, referral services, pre-school education and health and nutrition education for mothers. The target groups are children in the age group of 0-6 years and expectant mothers and nursing mothers. The other schemes of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Balwadi Nutrition Programme (BNP) are being implemented in the areas not covered by ICDS centres. An effort is going on to finalise a National Charter for Children with the aim to ensure that no child remains illiterate, hungry or lacks medical facilities. This Charter, once finalised, will supersede the National Policy for Children, 1974.
While one might claim that the government has done a lot to better the life of children, there is hardly any room for complacency. There is a gulf of difference between what has been done and what needs to be done. The rights of the child are being violated everywhere. If the future of the child is bleak, can we hope for a better tomorrow? Don’t we feel guilty when somewhere an inter-state racketeer kidnap children, maim or even killed them? Young girls are being driven into prostitution and boys into drug peddling. Many of the destitute homes for children are not functioning the way they ought to. Children are the responsibility of the home, the community and the government. None of us has any right to trifle with their future. They need care and congenial atmosphere and support to grow. If we help them grow into wholesome personalities, they, in their turn, will help build a world far better than the present an ideal tomorrow of which every parent, neighbourhood, society and nation could be really proud of. In short, the process of socialisation of children right from infancy to adulthood should be ‘acceptable’.
But what is our contribution in alleviating children’s misery? Just a passing sympathy on seeing heart-rending pictures of emaciated children, doing menial jobs with their tender hands as child labour in fields, hotels etc. will not do. Let’s celebrate Children’s Day with a commitment for positive action to transform the lives of these children who have little to celebrate.
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This line which occurs in a poem of William Wordsworth beginning “My heart leaps when I behold” formulate the view that the qualities shown by a child are often indications of what the child is going to be when he grows up to be a man. It is the qualities--physical , mental, and spiritual, which will be found in the grown up man--may be found in germ in the child. It might not be wholly true; yet it is generally true that man grows up to be what he is as a child.
As Milton says:
The childhood shows the man,
As morning shows the day.
But the utmost need of the child to bring up in the way he should be is, to impart training in the right way. Every child is unique in his own way. As the Scripture tells us, “Train up the child in the way he should go”. This clearly indicates that the habits and traits of a man are often only the development of the habits and traits he had as a child. It is pertinent to bring him up in the ways of honesty and uprightness, as a child brought up in surroundings that encourage filthy habits will most probably retain the filthy habits throughout life. The early training of a child is a matter of supreme importance. Just as the twig is bent, the tree inclined.
While we talk about the need of proper training of a child in the early period, one cannot ignore the basic needs and the environment where the child is being brought up. To have a look at the present condition, one may obviously argue that enough is not being done for the children of our State is evident from such disturbing features like infant mortality, child morbidity, child malnutrition, childhood disability, child abuse, child labour, child marriage; juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, the broken homes and the like. A great literary figure has said that ‘his name is today’ meaning that the basic needs of the child cannot be postponed. His need for milk; nutritious food, care of the mother, schooling, appropriate Medicare cannot be postponed. In other words, if we neglect the care of children, we are jeopardising the future of the society.
At every stage the child needs the loving care of the family and society. In the prenatal and impressionable years of childhood the child require proper immunisation, preventive health care, nutrition, proper weaning, love and security. For a child to be healthy, the mother too has to be healthy. Where the incidence of maternal mortality is high, the mother is anaemic and the infants die before they rise to see their first birthday. It should be presumed that the state and the community are not doing their duty towards neither the mothers nor their children. The fact that there is still poor enrolment in elementary education and that many dropout of schools for reasons of poverty or burdensome and lacklustre curriculum makes millions of children ill-equipped to face the responsibilities of the future. Poverty of their parents and our failure to make elementary education a universal phenomenon has helped spawn the ugly phenomenon of child labour. India has the dubious distinction of producing the largest child labour force in the world. Some of the States including Manipur have introduced mid-day meal schemes to attract poor children to schools and retain them, but still the problem of children staying away from school poses a great challenge.
Indiahas around 157.86 million children below the age of six years constituting 15.37 percent of its population. Following the adoption of the National Policy for Children in 1974, the ambitious scheme of integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was launched in 1975. The scheme provides a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check-up, referral services, pre-school education and health and nutrition education for mothers. The target groups are children in the age group of 0-6 years and expectant mothers and nursing mothers. The other schemes of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Balwadi Nutrition Programme (BNP) are being implemented in the areas not covered by ICDS centres. An effort is going on to finalise a National Charter for Children with the aim to ensure that no child remains illiterate, hungry or lacks medical facilities. This Charter, once finalised, will supersede the National Policy for Children, 1974.
While one might claim that the government has done a lot to better the life of children, there is hardly any room for complacency. There is a gulf of difference between what has been done and what needs to be done. The rights of the child are being violated everywhere. If the future of the child is bleak, can we hope for a better tomorrow? Don’t we feel guilty when somewhere an inter-state racketeer kidnap children, maim or even killed them? Young girls are being driven into prostitution and boys into drug peddling. Many of the destitute homes for children are not functioning the way they ought to. Children are the responsibility of the home, the community and the government. None of us has any right to trifle with their future. They need care and congenial atmosphere and support to grow. If we help them grow into wholesome personalities, they, in their turn, will help build a world far better than the present an ideal tomorrow of which every parent, neighbourhood, society and nation could be really proud of. In short, the process of socialisation of children right from infancy to adulthood should be ‘acceptable’.
But what is our contribution in alleviating children’s misery? Just a passing sympathy on seeing heart-rending pictures of emaciated children, doing menial jobs with their tender hands as child labour in fields, hotels etc. will not do. Let’s celebrate Children’s Day with a commitment for positive action to transform the lives of these children who have little to celebrate.
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