Wordsworth immortalised the place of a child in society with his words that “the Child is father of the Man”. But in reality the essence of this sentiment is missing. Do we ever make the time to look at life through the eyes of a child? Or do we even try to enter the unique world of a young child? Alas, the answer is often no. The Hindi film Taare Zameen Par very poignantly brings us face to face with this rather sad reality.

If we examine the issue, the reasons become clear. In the interest of doing what we think is the best, most children have to experience and do activities that adults plan. But while we talk about being child-centric, the perception is adult centric. Everything we devise is from the point of view of the adult and not the child. If a child paints a leaf red, we instantly say it is wrong. But maybe, the child associates the leaf with the colour red in his world of make-believe. Why should it be considered wrong?

As children grow, they automatically adjust to reality. There is a mad rush to buy toys that have educational value; why cannot toys be just for fun? Isn’t ‘fun’ a very potent learning experience? One must realise that the true potential of a child emerges much later, and it would be so much better if we did not make it our mission in life to make every little child a genius. What a burden we place on those frail shoulders! In the words of a child in Little Prince, “Grownups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: ‘What does his voice sound like?’ ‘What games does he like best?’ ‘Does he collect butterflies?’ They ask: ‘How old is he?’ ‘How many brothers does he have?’ ‘How much does he weigh?’ ‘How much money does his father make?’ Only then do they think they know him.”

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