By Saleh al Shaibany — My memories of school holidays are about the sound of the sea and that of bare feet running on the soft sand of the beach stretching forever. Yes, there were other sounds, too. The seagulls, fighting over the fish scattered on the mats left to dry under the hot sun by local fishermen. I also remember the crabs that used to dive for cover into their holes as I approached them. The clattering sound from the small, boat repair workshop bounced off the blue waters and blended with the roaring of the waves as they rushed to the shore. The workshop was quite a distance away and I would sometimes visit it to watch men stripped to the waist, hammering the vessels together, in a smoke-filled workplace reeking of tobacco and burning tar.
“Hey, boy, don’t just stand there like a piece of wood. Pass me that box of nails from the table.” This was a typical shout they directed at me.
I would happily oblige them in a world that was free of parental supervision. Though, I was only 10 or 11 and many streets away from home, I knew I was all right and so were my parents. I was safe from any physical harm by unscrupulous people.
Those days, every adult was a parent of other people’s children and when they were around, then it was like being supervised by your own parents. Independence then started early in life and we were free to make our own mistakes. That way, we learned fast.
Can I let my children be alone in a foul-smelling workshop where men work half-naked now? I don’t think so. The world hasn’t changed much from those days but its inhabitants have. Children have become the favourite target of criminals who wouldn’t think twice before abusing them.
We are obviously now denying our children the same freedom our parents gave us when we were growing up. We don’t take the same risks and we bottle them up in a way where they can only see the outside world from the protective shield that surrounds them.
It’s sad but life has changed for the worse.
I have this fear of seeing my children being dependent on familiar environment, reluctant to take risks that are so important in shaping their lives. It’s downright unfair, because we may blame them later for not taking the chances that come to them. Life is about taking that extra step towards the unknown, at least once in a lifetime. But modern day child-raising is about over-protection and guilt that comes when we know we are doing the wrong thing.
We are worried with the thought of them crossing a busy road, play in the next street and ask them countless questions when they make a new friend. We find every excuse to keep them indoors and spend a fortune buying them electronic games to make sure they are.
It is no surprise that some children of the cities in the Gulf never saw a cow, a goat or even chicken. Children now look in amazement when they hear for the first time a rooster crow. They don’t see a thrashing fish just fished out of the water. They may see that in virtual reality in their video games but it is not the same thing, is it?
I bet they would not even recognise the smell of a rotting tree after the rainy season or the sound of dry leaves under the treading of feet in the summer. Their physical senses have been replaced by electronic ones they see in the video games. From the constant watchful eyes of the parents, the children of today know only to obey commands programmed by an obsessive mum and dad. That’s why they love computer games. The great outdoors that we enjoyed as children are fast vanishing for our kids and are being replaced by the four walls of protection we call home.
— saleh_shaibany@yahoo.com
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