Some time ago, I was walking down the street and ahead of me was a couple with a small child in a pushchair. The child was demanding his mother's attention, wanting her to look at him, be with him, perhaps pick him up. Instead, she gave him her phone and the child looked at it. Maybe he thought... this replaces quality time with his mother.
I know the child probably didn't think that, he was very, very young. That's what I thought. Seeing that made me sad to think about how many children go through that today. Imagining their future worries me. They will grow up emotionally deprived.
There has always been the issue of emotional deprivation; even I have experienced it, but not because of something as common as it is now to put a child in front of the television, give them a mobile phone or tablet, and have them watch cartoons all day, things that are not tangible, staring at a screen all day, instead of... being with their parents, looking at their mother, and creating that beautiful connection.
I looked at the child and felt so sad for him and for so many others in the same circumstances. I see it every day on the street, on the bus, in shops, everywhere. The child is annoying, so they give him the mobile phone. In a fit of rage, I think to myself: Why did they have them? So many couples cannot have children and have wanted them desperately, and those who do have them, not all, but many, give them a phone instead of love.
A tablet instead of a hug, turning on the television instead of talking to them, even if they don't understand the language yet, giving them a phone instead of a kiss, putting them in front of a computer to play instead of playing with tangible toys that develop their intellect, creativity and brain, and stimulate their intelligence.
A screen instead of love... I think about that a lot. And I think about the serious harm that is done to all those children, and I think... those people are better off not having children, that's not love. Love is time and quality time, it is looking a child in the eyes and saying I love you, giving a caress, a hug, cooking something delicious, eating with your child, playing with them. Of course, I do not agree with what I see every day, those children will grow up with so many deficiencies in their hearts, in their souls. And I think about what kind of society will come.
There are many other ways to entertain a child. I even see parents who never take their children to a playground, a park, the beach, or go for a walk with them. That would be a wonderful way for them to exercise and grow up healthy. I don't have children, but I would be an old-fashioned mother. I don't think I would fit into today's world very well.
Of course, I'm not saying that all parents do that; not all are the same. I see many parents taking their children to play in playgrounds. But I see many who don't and who give them screens so they don't bother them, because they cry, because they scream... they just need their parents' attention, they need their parents, their gaze, their voices, their caresses and their time.
There are millions of games that exist to encourage and help a child grow up healthily, interactive games, games of ingenuity, colouring, painting, there are so many that I couldn't list them all, but parents look for the easiest option... one of the many screens that people are so stupid about. And I think about the future...
I hope people become aware of many things, but sometimes I doubt very much that this will happen. I chose this topic from among the weekend topics proposed by @galenkp. Thank you very much for that.
Thank you all very much for joining me today. I wish you a very good weekend. See you soon.
Amonet.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
