Rashmi's Space

  It was only a few weeks ago that we heard of the now notorious Blue Whale game for the first time in India. At the time, we breathed a collective sigh of relief that this is not something that we have to tackle in our country, yet. Nevertheless, we warned our family and friends about this and began to worry about our children, praying that we do not miss any signs when it comes to our own families. And then the reports came of a suicide of a teenager in Mumbai; and the rumour mills started working overtime connecting this to the global horror of the Blue Whale phenomenon. Of course, there were counter rumours too, which denied any connection between the two; but warned us, anyway, about being vigilant when it comes to our children and their activities.

It’s that time of the year again! Exams are done and the summer vacations have officially begun for most children (and their parents). For children this is the time to wind down, relax and enjoy the sun! For most parents too this is the time to let their hair down. But for some (like yours truly) who work, vacations take on a whole different meaning. Even in case of parents who are at home with their children, keeping children busy for two whole months does seem like a daunting task. I mean, if left to be by themselves, most children today would choose to watch endless hours of TV and munch on as much junk food as possible! Right?  So then most parents start looking for summer camps and classes to keep their little ones busy. Many take this opportunity to teach their children something new, some try to start taking interest in new hobbies and all, but eventually either the parents get tired taking children to and from their classes, or children get fed up because of their...

"Mom! Can I please download a game, mom? Please!!??" I am on a bus and I hear a child ask his harried mother this question. The mother, who is working furiously on her iPad,  is only too happy to let the child choose a game and downloads one for him. A few minutes into the game, the child is bored. "I am bored of this game, mom! Lets download another?!".....sound familiar? Most parents can relate to the above incident, and those who don't are either not parents yet or are blessed with children who know better ;-) We hear children as young as three, four and five years of age, keen on (and surprisingly, even knowing how to!) download games on their parents' smartphones and tablets or iPads. Though, as youngsters ourselves, even we were fascinated by video games and computer games and even agreeing that it is natural, it is still a bit of a concern that our children, very young children, are caught in the lure of these games. But if you ask me, the que...