The Tear Drop of a Child

The thing that I  hate most is the tear drop. If it is from the eyes of a child it wells my eyes too. Every scene of a child crying is the most horrible thing that an unlucky has to bear with in this world. All would agree that the kids are innocent and they need to be showered with love and affection. But all are not ready to part with what they think right. The simple reason is their priorities. Gone are the days when parents lived for the kids. Today more and more men and women join in the hunt for money. They are after promotions, flats, friends, and gifted with a property 'false ego' unfailingly. The father and the mother -together they earn but are not aware what they lose. 

 Today's kids have got costly toys, modern electronic gadgets to fiddle with, books of different colors, eatables of different brands, dresses of continental brands and many more. But are they getting  the simple love from the parents and the elders in the family is a moot question.  In the earlier days no parent would be telling their kids of their love for them. It was intrinsic and natural. But today the parents proclaim and assert but kids are not ready to accept. A parent who spends hardly an hour a day with his her child can't talk of pouring love to their kids.  

 Kids do want and demand many things which may not be in the reach of a parent. But with unlimited love love alone any one can make his/her  child happy. As the competition grows outside for posts and salaries, for name and fame, for wealth and growth, the pressure  tends to grow inside. Parents do think of various factors and do provide what they think is essential.  Yes, the child grows physically and  brings to home certificates of myriad colors to prove his her mettle in  scholastic or in non-scholastic areas. None realizes that they are in the process of  a 'money making machine' and not in 'man making'. 

The TV shadows casts a shadow in the lives of  every kid today. As the joint family system is broken, the TV is the savior and the kids start to watch the colorful  scenes even as babies. The kids lie on the floor with their eyes fixed on the TV. The parent is left with  no other option. Once grown up their ears are filled with music and hardly a child listens to any friend as they are locked up inside their apartment complexes. They remain inside  highly protected  zones with surveillance cameras and emergency alarms fitted. The modern housing complexes are almost a jail -the only difference is the keys for the doors and gates  are with the inmates. Some parents  have grown so tall and they won't allow their kids to move with any one. 

In the schools the stress is on taking in what is there on the printed books. All agree that 'each child is unique', but every one expects 'uniform' results. Score 100 % in every exam, every class and in every subject. Nothing below the score  100 is acceptable. And people are proudly declaring how many thousands got 100's  in their scheme. Every one fails to understand that in the school only the 'uniforms' would be uniform and all other 'results' have to be varied. Such  result only would prove the varied talents of kids. 

Thus a child who gets nothing of his/her choice either at home or in the school grows to become an adult of disappointment and with unrealistic expectations. In the present scenario we would be getting more and more men and women of brawny brains but none with a heart that moves for a fellow being. 

The kids are to be flooded with unconditional love in abundance. Stay and spend more time with your kids. Your craving for 'growth' should not be the reason for the 'decay' of your child.  Let your child play the  game of  the cricket  and expect not Tendulkar's cricket in your child ; let your child enjoy the noble science and expect not any of the Nobel laureates' science in your child. 

  

		DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD  Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 1386 (XIV) of 10 December 1959
		WHEREAS the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
		WHEREAS the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,
		WHEREAS the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,
		WHEREAS the need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children,
		WHEREAS mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,
		Now, therefore,  Proclaims    THIS DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles:
1		The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family.
2		The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.
3		The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality.
4		The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided both to him and to his mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services.
5		The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition.
6		The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and other assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.
7		The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.   The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents.   The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.
8		The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.
9		The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.   The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental or moral development.
10		The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious and any other form of discrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men.