Why We Need To Apologise To Our Kids This Children’s Day!

Throughout the pandemic and the lockdowns, children have shown incredible resilience. Here’s why we need to say sorry to them!

“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

I really wish these lines, we all quote aren’t just words. And I wish there were an undertaking – signed and sealed. I wish any deviance was punishable, maybe, then we would have been a little more careful.

Kids have only shown us how resilient they are

On the other hand, our kids have shown us how resilient they are. I hear small kids as small as two who say, “We can’t go out to play, because of corona” on being asked if they would like to go out.

The kids have adapted to online classes. They are happy to talk to their friends virtually. I have not heard my kids or their friends complain about not being able to go out or meet each other. They are patiently waiting for things to go back to normal without complaining about missing sports.

We only talk about the difficulties of teachers and parents with regards to online classes. Online classes and tests are challenging for kids too, but they have just taken it in their stride.

Maybe we could learn from them

I have never seen a kid remove their mask in public places. Some of the kids are so worried about the situation, they have developed some compulsions. And some kids have lost out on one year of studies.

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Students who graduated have lost out on job opportunities. Some of them could not perform well in the entrance exams due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. But still, they never made us responsible for any of this.

I hope our kids don’t learn from us and behave like us when they grow up. In fact, wouldn’t it be nice if we could emulate the children?

The people who still don’t wear masks should be made to learn from the kids. The people who only talk about social distancing but don’t practice it must be taught about social distancing by the children.

I wish they held us accountable

While some had to wait for months to actually get back to work and earn their livelihood, some of us are happy to go on holidays again. I wish we learn how to stay at home without complaining from our kids.

It is Diwali and Children’s Day today. And for the first time, kids don’t have fire-crackers but I don’t see them complaining. I wish they did and I really wish we were held accountable.

This Children’s Day, I feel embarrassed to say ‘Happy Children’s day!’ So on behalf of all adults, I am saying, ‘I am sorry!’

A version of this was earlier published here.

Picture credits: Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels

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