The message we give our children

My grade three daughter was asked to write down four beautiful gifts that God has given her and the answer was interesting. To my surprise, the first answer was a mobile phone, the second was food, then water and, the last one she said, was school. I asked her why the phone? Her answer was so she can call her parents whenever she felt she wanted to speak to them. Obviously, she misses us when she returns from school, as that is the time when she has a lot of news to share with all excitement. I don’t blame my child. People all around her are carrying a mobile, whether it’s her own parents, teachers or bus driver. It forms an inseparable part of our lives. So much so that most of us cannot live without a mobile, whether it is for our professional or personal use.

Things have come to such an extent that children feel that these modern gadgets are an important part of our lives and cannot be done without. Nowadays, I think that the emotional bonding between parents and children isn’t as strong. I thought on how would someone from my generation answer such a question and I was sure that 99 per cent of us would answer: parents, teachers and friends or loved ones. Nowadays, children are exposed to electronic gadgets. They see them being used everywhere. People are so hooked to their phones that it has turned out to be the new oxygen required for survival. Lack of communication between elders and the younger generation has resulted in a lack of bonding and warmth, which was found only a few years back. Our children are losing practical and emotional thinking after the emergence of new gadgets and this should be seriously addressed.

Although they are useful in many ways, dependency on them can lead to children thinking of them as indispensable and “beautiful gifts from God”. I have decided to make sure that I communicate more to my child in person and spend more time with her so that she is not forced to play with these unreal friends and maybe not be addicted to them.

- The reader is a logistics manager based in Dubai.