Human beings are social animals and we need to feel that there is always someone to comfort us, love us, share our joys and sorrows. This is why the most crucial function of family is the affectional function – that function which nurtures our emotional and psychological needs. When these needs are not met by parents in their children’s early years, the latter produces ill-adjusted individuals with unhealthy attitudes. The end result of this is a society plagued with social issues such as juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, street children, physical and sexual abuse etc.
Research proves this, as seen in the major reason textbooks give for these social issues:
- Juvenile delinquency – “broken homes where socialisation by parents is weakened
- Drug Addiction – “to assist in coping with life’s problems”.
- Street Children – “abandonment by parents”.
- Abuse – “abusers were socialised in homes where abuse was present”.
- Teenage Pregnancy – “’broken homes where socialisation by both parents is weak”
Sadly, many Hindu children are victims in each of these mentioned categories. This is a stark contrast to the traditional Hindu family who produced virtuous, model children. Our ancestors were efficient nurturers although circumstances in their lives then were very trying. Their plight is highlighted in this poetic description:
“when a Hindu couple tied the marriage knot
The government recognised it not
yet with hoes and cutlasses they worked together
planting, weeding and harvesting in any weather
women cooked and cleaned in these shacks
no running water and toilets, they did not look back…..”
The heart of the problem is that many modern day Hindu cradle rockers are doing a bad job. They do not realise that families are the building blocks on which society/the world is built and that we need strong families/cradle rockers to have a strong and stable society/world. A newborn child must be given proper care and attention in an environment free from turmoil and chaos. However we cannot only feed, clothe and bathe our bubbly, beautiful baby and infants (our ‘sundarpopos’).
We must give equal importance to their motor development, mental and language development and special importance to their emotional and personality development. The key cradle rockers, parents, bear the main responsibility for good socialisation. Parents can facilitate this by ensuring interaction with other children, adolescents, exemplary adults who will instil lasting values, habits and attitudes in our children. As the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”.
Even though life has become extremely challenging in these modern times, the role of the family is still regarded as the cornerstone or bedrock of society. This is because no other institution can effectively perform the functions of family. Our Hindu ancestors understood this fully. Modern Hindu cradle rockers must rise up to the challenge. We must nurture our ‘sundarpopos’ (beautiful children) to develop such character and sense of purpose like our ancestors in the poem, so that they never subscribe to the distorted legacy that their nana “walking in front drinking white one, while their nannie “followed behind drinking wine”.
Mrs. Mala Persad.
