21st century kids : Are they really having their golden childhood ?

It’s easy to forget that notions of childhood have changed radically over the years—and not all for the better", says Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Change is the natural law of nature. Everything changes with time. Similarly, the way children enjoy their childhood has also changed. Not all changes are good. This is exactly what happened in this case. Children of the 21st century have a very different childhood. This difference does not have a very positive effect on their childhood. Ever before one decade, the scenario was totally different. Children used to play outdoor games and they were playing some culture games too. They loved to engage with their family, friends and many more. However, the interests and tastes of today's kids have changed a lot.https://kids then vs now.

HOW IS CHILDHOOD TODAY DIFFERENT THAN IN THE PAST?

Kids back then and now

Kids used to spend the most of their free time outside playing different outdoor games with their buddies back in the day. However, the current generation of children spends the most time using technology and playing video games. Here we will talk about some of the most significant changes in childhood since then. So let's get started now,

1.Games then and now : Earlier children used to play a lot of rural games. They used to play a lot of outdoor games like cricket, shuttle, kho-kho, hide and seek, cut the cake, kite flying football, etc. and make joyful memories with their friends. They love to get wet in the rain. They used to swim in the pond. In the afternoon ,mothers would put their children to sleep. They used to run away from home in the afternoon to play. As soon as the evening came, they  would return home, wash their hands and face, and sit down to read so that their mother would not scold them. These things remained as sweet memories of their lives.

But now, kids play mobile games like temple run, candy crush, fruit ninja, PUBG, video games, etc. They watch cartoons on TV. They have few friends. Most of the time they feel lonely and keep various sophisticated toys, mobile phones and video games as their companions. They hardly go to the field to play. They enjoy indoor games more than outdoor games. Infact, they play the outdoor games like cricket and football virtually through mobile games and video games.

2.Education system then and now:  Earlier ,children used to sit and read with love for education. Studying was not a burden to them. They used to study at certain times of the day and enjoy the rest of the time with friends and family. School as well as parents als0 did not give pressure on children then. However, with the passage of time, there have been many changes in this regard. Children are being pressured from very childhood. School to home and home to school- this has become their daily routine. Many children are also sent to coaching centers by their parents which are nothing but extra burden in the children's life. This is how today's children are deprived of enjoying their golden childhood.

3.Cartoons from then to now:  At times of earlier, kids did not watch TV so much as now. But whenever they watched TV, they preferred to watch cartoons show. Most of the children loved 'Mina ,'Sisim Pur','Thakumar jhuli',etc.

They did not even have that options. As these cartoons were telecasted on TV at a certain time, kids used  to wait all day to watch their favourite cartoons. These cartoons were very educational and children found healthy entertainment by watching cartoons. But in today's era, kids are not so much attracted to native cartoons. Foreign cartoons attract them more. Native cartoons seem back-dated to them. By watching these cartoons, they hardly get any education.

4.Leisure then and now: Children of earlier days used to spend their free time doing many fun activities. They used to work according to their hobbies like fishing, gardening, painting, singing, dancing, reading story books etc. They used to hang out with family. But today's kids love modern technology more as tool to spend their leisure time. These sedentary leisure activities, which range from conversing with friends in various mobile device applications to playing online casino games to watching movies on streaming services,  are all becoming more common around the world and are associated with technology advancements.

HOW ARE THESE CHANGES AFFECTING CHILDREN?

Day by day children's hobbies, tastes, thoughts are changing a lot. There are good and bad sides to this change(impact of technology on children). But the bad is more than the good. Maturity comes very fast  in today's kids. They are being prepared from a vey young age to keep pace with the modern world. Today's parents are also very careful about this. However everything has a certain time. Children should not be pressured to study from an early age. This will affect their mind. Earlier children did not worry about their studies and were very healthy mentally.

Besides these, children do not run, do not play outdoor games. It has a serious effect on their body. Today's kids get sick more easily than the kids of yesteryear .Playing outdoor in groups helps kids learn the art of coping up with winning and losing. If children do not learn this at an early age, they tend to find it difficult to cope with challenging and unfavourable conditions later in life. This lead to stress followed by behavioural problems. Outdoor play can also help kids get proper amounts of vitamin D, also known as the "sunshine vitamins", since bodies produce it during sun exposure. Today's kids prefer playing video games at home rather than playing on the field. It's all about the impact of technology on children.

Technology can negatively affect children's developing social skills, relationships, health, and overall ability to focus. Children could become accustomed to being alone and lose interest in interacting with their parents or even pals offline.

Their devices' virtual reality is frequently more alluring and enjoyable than the real world. Children are becoming antisocial day by day due to staying at home all the time. These hamper their mental health. Their family bondings has also decreased. As a result, they easily fall into the darkness of depression. Day by day children are getting addicted to technology and it is having a terrible impact on their physical and mental health. Children's eyesight and hearing are deteriorating due to the use of additional devices. Their brains are deformed.

Again, todays children are able to gain knowledge about foreign culture as most of the children watch foreign cartoons and TV shows. Children of earlier days were aaware of their native traditions and culture from a very childhood. But today's scenario is totally different. There are many difference between the childhood of children of yesteryear and the childhood of today's children. These changes have not really brought any good to the children's lives.

Children should enjoy their childhood to the fullest. When they grow up and look back on the past, these childhood memories will give them strength to move forward in life.