Let your kids speak up!
By Wajiha Abdul Samad
Growing up in a desi household, if there’s one thing we have all heard, at least once in our life, it is that “beta, yeh bachon ki bat nahi hai” or in other words, “beta, baron ke beech main nahibolte”. These sorts of statements are so deeply engrained in our culture that we don’t even stop for a second to ponder over the repercussions that it might have. In fact, we have never even thought against it as it tends to substantiate the set of manners we grow up with.
However, if we look at the bigger picture here, these responses accumulate to shunning down young voices who are just gaining the confidence to speak up. In our culture, a child with an opinion is often considered to be disrespectful or a rebel when that’s really not the case. Children as young as 2 years old have an eye, voice and personality of their own. They are highly observant and pick up cues from their surroundings. They do tend to lay their ideas and thoughts forward in small sentences,but their so-called misdemeanor is brushed under the carpet by saying “hehe bacha hai”. The situation gets troublesome when these very young kids get to a sensible age and are finally able to communicate their views, they are silenced as if their opinions don’t matter and if they dare do speak up, they are grounded.
This not only leads to social anxiety, it also hinders their intellectual growth.
Furthermore, considering the fact that child abuse usually happens by family members, how do we expect the kids to speak up against it when talking against an adult is considered to be such a taboo. Bring a change and give your child the room to talk about each and everything.
Make them believe that what they are saying matters and that you are listening. Initiate a conversation and you will be surprised at how much they have to say to you. They have a tiny voice, but it has the power to shake the world. Now, it’s on you to instill in them the confidence to be the voice of change.