How To Protect Children From Evil

A lot has evolved between the belief that the brain ceases to grow after puberty—to this essential and significant realisation—and that the human brain only fully matures past our mid-20s. With the limbic system (origin of emotions) and prefrontal cortex (in-charge of emotions) taking more than a decade to complete their respective growths, the human mind navigates the challenges of adolescence (between 13 and 19 years of age) through umpteen clashes, conflicts, and raging hormones. The enormity of these challenges is often seen in risk-taking behaviour, the scant regard for consequences and an irrational need for adrenaline wherever they can find it.

Interestingly, this cardinal phase of growing up wasn’t even psychologically recognised till the early 20th century. The first president of the American Psychological Association, G. Stanley Hall, credited this new phase of human development to social changes humanity started witnessing, and, therefore, nascent attempts were made at incorporating these changes at the time. Access to education and child labour laws left teenagers with abundant time as the obligations of an erstwhile period weren’t thrust upon them any longer. Hall iterated that it then was incumbent on society to come together and “burn out the vestiges of nature”.

Teenage years are laced with an intrepid bent of mind, one that seeks validation from cruising uncharted territories, garnering attention from avenues with little to no substance, and so on and so forth. With the advent of technology and its unrelenting (curated algorithm) and unlimited access at our fingertips, we are confronted with unprecedented difficulties and they concern children—the future stakeholders of our planet. We were somehow able to save and protect them from physical dangers, so far, but the moment this danger found its way to their minds, we unwittingly were distanced. The digital consumption of content, though ironically always in our sight, deepened the abyss of connection. Physical proximity replaced mental connectivity, unfortunately. Children who are left to fend for themselves in the digital world will return with unfathomable complexities, with no wisdom to filter and no wherewithal to separate the wheat from the chaff.

A child라이브 바카라 behaviour is a reservoir of information, if only we equip ourselves to comprehend the need-based information. We, as modern parents, rely a lot on the core idea that sufficient age-based freedoms, accurate articulation of their needs, and structured demand of presence during meal time, family time, vacations, etc, are enough for a new-age wholesome growth. Far be it from me to discredit the vitality of such tried and tested techniques, but I do see a disturbing and glaring dissonance in true connections vis-a-vis these dated methods of parenting. Parenting, at its heart, should ideally reflect the concepts of evolving parenting, one that steps up in (so-called) unfit situations, like internet and online presence. I want to assert here that I am an ardent advocate of social media connections, as I believe in the nurturing of all kinds of  nourishment from all variants, and the learning that results from exposure to the current zeitgeist.

It라이브 바카라 disconcerting to see how after the TV series, Adolescence, social media is stirring up what can be seen as a collective indignation of parents, completely missing the bigger picture of isolation and seclusion Jamie was practically coerced into because of his teenage-hesitancy in sharing things he was seeing online. I have seen it around often to not miss the signs of discomfort in teenagers when it comes to opening their hearts out, to be heard, seen and accepted without judgement. We yield to restrictive approaches instead of resorting to liberal reach-outs. Social media is merely a symptom of deep, underlying issues with children—at best, it is the elephant in the room and not the sole evil we are making it out to be. As part of an evolutionary species, we have always been able to adapt to changing social dynamics.

We were able to continually address the unsettling external forces which weren’t in favour of our value system, or so we thought. Indoctrination did not start with social media. It did, however, cut through all barriers we presumed to be long extinct in the environment we are bringing up children. Any kind of influence we deem bad and wrong has always been around, and every generation has struggled with their own share of rebellion which our parents labelled as obsessions—starting from Rock ’n’ Roll devotion in the 1950s, the unapproved content on television to video games and now the social media. Closer home, adults around me were convinced that Bollywood movies were a sure shot way to our perdition. I used to drive my folks up the wall with my passionate addiction to comics, while my peers were fixated on unnatural and exploitative powers of sci-fi characters exhibited on screens.

Almost all oldies would swear their last penny that our generation was out to destroy society and become the sole cause of moral decline. We can all—without a second thought—attribute at least one activity we mindlessly indulged in which made our parents believe—without an iota of doubt—in the possibilities of us turning into derelicts and delinquents. All visibly perceived threats get a bad rep because it라이브 바카라 easier to shut down what라이브 바카라 in front of us and revel in the fact that we have resolved the matter at hand. But matters of the mind are where we need to focus, delve deep, and scratch the surface of what our teens are up against in the digital world.

Attunement is fundamentally different from kindness and love. All parents I know are extremely compassionate, way more than I could ever be with my own, given my own issues with a conditional upbringing where we had to earn love, instead of love being the default setting of childhood. When we were young and loud, we were heard, but hardly listened to. Now the struggles are silent, which is why communicative intervention is invoked.

From what I have keenly observed around me in the little life I have led, as primary caretakers if we base our approach on a solid foundation of autonomy with generous toppings of moments filled with raw and unfiltered conversations, seasoned with non-preachy wisdom, we will certainly pave the way to safe spaces they won’t need an escape from. When children do venture into spaces in our absence, we can be rest assured that they will be safe by the sheer virtue of equanimity. Our children constantly deal with micro-violence and violations—bullying, exclusions, peer pressure, and gazes of all kinds—but mainly perceived masculinity (the 80-20 rule quite explains it), and navigating teen years in itself has been recognised as one of the most challenging parts of development.

It is then imperative to meet them with micro-connections and reassurances throughout their adolescent life. Parenting too is one long shot, but, if we are fortunate, we do get several chances to repair and build better and secure spaces. As a mother, I should be able to trace my child라이브 바카라 physical course through adolescence as well as mental meanderings, anchoring the sails of their struggles, till they can find a steady shore to take on life라이브 바카라 ups and downs.

(Views expressed are personal)

Meenakshi Jha is an aspirational writer and devoted mother of dog and daughter

This article is part of 바카라라이브 바카라 April 21, 2025 issue 'Adolescence' which looks at the forces shaping teenage boys today—online misogyny, incel forums, bullying, and the chaos of the manosphere. It appeared in print as 'Leave The Kids Alone'.