THE ALARMING RISE IN CHILD AGGRESSION DEMANDS URGENT ATTENTION
Children displaying abnormal and violent behavior have become a frequent topic in print and electronic media, raising serious concerns for parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, and especially educators. Although children spend 5 to 6 hours in school, they are at home for the remaining 18 to 19 hours, either indoors or outdoors.
The alarming rise in child aggression includes extreme acts of violence, such as the use of sharp objects and firearms. Unfortunately, these dangerous tools are often easily accessible due to the negligence or carelessness of adults.
In a recent shocking incident, a third-grade boy brought a small firearm to school and used it to shoot a senior student.
In another incident a few years back in Haryana, a senior secondary student shot dead his principal in her office in broad daylight for rebuking him to improve his performance in studies. Very recently, in Assam, a student killed his principal. There may be similar occurrences that might go unnoticed. You talk to any teacher, head teacher, principal, or management member of any school, and you will find one general observation or compliant of aggressive behavior in school-going children, which has become a severe issue to be dealt with tactfully a nd intelligently on priority.
HOW TO TACKLE KIDS:
The first agency to tackle this widely prevalent human issue is the home. Parents are supposed to spare a few hours in the company of their children by withdrawing all types of electronic gadgets such as cellphones, laptops, or other similar devices that may hinder communication between parents and children. Parents should also ensure that if available, grandparents are involved in this process. The full and quality time spent with children at home can definitely pave the way for better communication with children and channelize their stress or pressure, if any, to get released. Making available high-tech gadgets to pass time or keep a child happy is not a solution; rather, it is counterproductive.
Next, educators should understand that the school environment has a direct bearing on the mind of a child. The environment in school should be highly communicative and polite. Educators and parents, including grandparents, are required to be in close communication for the smooth exchange of feedback on a child’s activities. Although the homework system is forbidden for junior classes, unfortunately, children can be seen loaded with homework, which causes them anxiety and pressure. Educators should plan their teaching materials in such a way that the syllabus work is finished in school hours itself, and a child should feel free at pack-up time to go home, with arrival in the next morning also free from the burden of homework. Parents should cooperate with schools and should insist on giving homework to their child. It is disheartening to see that even KG students can be seen going for tuition in the evening hours mainly to get their homework completed.
Lastly, but importantly, children are required to be kept away to the maximum possible extent from digital media or social media, as it has the potential to give them early exposure to materials that they get influenced by enormously and try to imitate, which can result in violence.
The bottom line is to instill the reading habit in a child by parents and grandparents by setting up their own examples and establishing a small home library, Parents and grandparents know better than anyone what their child will like to read. However, they can take the help of educators in this regard. In doing so, a child will develop a reading habit from an early stage, keeping away from excessive exposure to digital or social media.
