Who'll save the human child?

I am watching a kitten frolicking on the ground and pausing from time to time to look beseechingly into my eyes. Can anything be more pleasurable than watching a playful kitten? Or, for that matter, a baby playing and gurgling with delight? The sheer innocence, the wonder in the eyes, the energy in the limbs, the joyous spirit, nothing compares to these.

And what happens when the human child grows up? Burdened under parental and teachers' expectations, and the pressures of performing in a rigid school environment, the child forgets its natural vivacity and innocence. The playfulness soon gets buried under tomes of books, worksheets, exam papers, project workbooks et al. Everybody gets busy in grooming and moulding the child into becoming something of a genius in all activities. What happens to the natural child? Does he/she get the time and space to be on his/her own?

Coming back to the kitten, it will soon become a strapping cat, full of survival skills and boundless energy. It will follow its instincts, hunt and catch its prey, evade its predators, and make peace with other cats and animals in its neighbourhood. It will LIVE its life.

Does the human child not deserve a chance to do the same?

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