Muscat: More often than not, our kids cry and demand the mobile phone in the hand of the elders and the vulnerable parents tend to religiously share these electronic gadgets in a bid to pacify the child so that she or he can finish their tasks at hand.
But truly, what our young children need is not an electronic gadget nor a device that take them on a virtual ride, but a practical voyage on some real experiences of the elders, according to psychologists and student counsellors.
Young children, especially between 7 to 14 must receive constant inputs to augur his or her self-esteem, confidence to stand bullies and courage to face future challenges.
A kid living in a virtual world, used to the atrocities of the larger-than-life characters and killing people, will not be able to stand the experiments of time and chances are he will find life a web world and try to escape from it. Psychological disorders, pre-exam anxiety, stress, and the like are results of weak minds who find failure a big tragedy.
“We receive various psychology-related complaints from parents and children regularly and the number of cases is increasing,” said Dr Rahma al Numani, Consultant Psychiatrist at Al Masarrah Hospital.
Prashobh Valappilakkandy, senior counsellor at the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) system of the Indian Schools and a member of the student counsellors, said: “We receive a case or two a day where the parent would complain of issues related mostly with pre-exam anxiety.”
“In this hyper-connected age, paradoxically our children feel isolated, without a healthy means of expressing themselves. This tele-counselling service is committed to ensuring the emotional health of our
children & can even be a life-saver in dire situations,” Dr Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman said.
“Children should be given books and other reading material and inculcate a habit of reading from a very young age so that parents can nurture a clear mind in them while helping them grow to be responsible citizens of the world.”
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
