THE BEST AGE TO GIFT OUR KIDS MOBILE PHONES
“You
could jump so much higher
when
you had somewhere safe to fall.”
Liane
Moriarty
Some
days ago, I had asked 13-year-old Darshil and his 11-year-old sister, Tirtha,
to write at least five of their privileges in life. That day, during the Zoom
session, I told them the story of Ekalavya, the tribal boy from Mahabharata.
I tell about this boy,
Ekalavya, in every Personality-development session, while helping kids, youngsters
or adults to become self-confident and proactive persons… I call it ‘The Spirit
of Ekalavya’ and, often, ‘The School of Ekalavya’. What Ekalavya did was the
most proactive act towards building his self-confidence… No blaming, no self-pitying
and no reacting. So, to me, Ekalavya was a better student, a better learner, a
better young man than Arjuna. I am not interested in the archery… The story
gives us enough proof for his brilliance in archery, too. But, then, to me,
that’s a small feat on his part… The greater feat was, that he beat Arjuna, hands
down, when it had come to doing it despite the lack of privileges in life… He
was the quintessential underdog: the one who did it with sheer fire from his
belly!
When Darshil and Tirtha had asked
me, with all their innocence, “Sir, what is the meaning of ‘Privilege’, I recounted
this inspiring story. Then, I gave them the assignment to write about, at
least, five privileges they were enjoying in life…
Well, both my Ekalavyas had
more than a dozen to begin with!
A common privilege was this: “My
parents have given me a mobile phone”!
Interestingly,
that’s been one of the regular topics of
group discussions and debates in our Personality-development Programme: ‘Mobiles
to kids - Is it a bane or a boon?’… ‘What is the ‘right’ age’… etc.
So, just to sensitize them a
bit, I was asking Darshil and Tirtha: “Why do you think it’s a privilege?”
Mercifully, by now, they not
only knew, that having a separate mobile phone with each kid was a
privilege in life, they, also, knew, that they were supposed to make the best
use of it and not misuse…
With that end all the discussions and debates about gifting mobiles to kids... The case is rested.
Each one of us
has his/her own privileges in life… Having a mobile phone may be a privilege
for little Darshil and Tirtha. But, what about some kids who don’t have either both
parents or one parent? What about those kids whose parents have lost their livelihood
in this pandemic? What about those kids whose parents abuse or assault them?
What about those kids who are born with physical or mental disabilities? What
about those kids who are orphaned or constantly criticized and rejected? What
about? What about? What about?
Let me reiterate it in my
conclusion: Whether a mobile phone comes to the kids at 8 or 18 should not be the
question. When does the realization - of what a privilege in life is - come to
them… yes, that should be the question.
Yes, the case rests there!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic’s.: 1. Pixels/ Kat Jayne 2. pixabay
Videos: 60 Minutes Australia
Comments