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        The spate of kidnappings, killings and suicides of kids since new year, all over the country and in our own neighbourhoods, is a rude awakening to an emerging catastrophe. The inheritors of India, the tots and teens, seem to be under siege as never before. Indeed, being a child in the current times is, well, no child's play. But,while much ado is made about the trials and troubles of parenting, the child's perspective is rarely in the picture.

        The idea is not to undermine parental prerogative. Nor can anyone justify the criminal acts of some spoilt or misguided children recently in city. But an unabashed analysis would reveal that the proverbial four fingers point to the adults. Really, the plight of children today has more to do with an irresponsible, reckless and unfriendly adult society and less with the known proclivities of children. The result is the psyche of the child being subjected to severe and relentless onslaughts from all directions.

        To put it bluntly, to be a child today is a huge pain and not a pleasure, as the nostalgic 40-pluses tend to imagine. Every object of perceived happiness actually brings them more misery. And there are too many such burdens weighing them down to the point of physical and psychological collapse. The happy child, wallowing in innocent bliss, is extinct. Instead, there is a tense and tormented soul residing in most of those tender frames. Behavioral and educational expectations of parents and peer pressure are familiar culprits. But two more serious threats to children are now rife: Criminality and Commerce.

        Criminal instincts in a child can be a stand-alone trait wrought by several factors. Again, crimes against children, euphemistically called child abuse, is also nothing new. But while juvenile delinquents and paedophiles have always had their odd days out in the past, the sudden spurt in such instances is striking. Some argue that it is only now a proactive and round the clock media is bringing to light such things, while in the past they have gone unnoticed. But crime statistics clearly point to a rising tide of criminality in the past decade or so while several studies also prove a marked shift for the worse in criminal tendencies amidst the young. Such invasion of crime into childhood can straightaway be attributed to the rampant commercialisation and the consequent degrading of core values and norms of society. In a situation where everything from education to entertainment to even enlightenment is not exempt from the sweep of money, the children have borne the brunt.

        And how!The under-20 is the target of virtually every product or service, dead set to catch 'em young. They are not seen as sensitive souls to be nurtured but a market to be pampered for gains. And the communication industry, which includes the media, is the most notorious in exploiting their vulnerabilities. Mind-boggling technology has joined hands with mind-numbing entertainment options to form an irresistible cocktail for the impressionable; no other generation would have faced such temptations.The pulls and pleasures of the modern world would make even saints stumble!So, how can kids be shackled?

        Tune in now to these dreadful samples: With virtually every teenager carrying a mobile, the operators found the advent of a new year the right occasion to offer 'love tips' via SMS to its subscribers, for a price of course. And not just cell phone companies, but TV channels and the dime a dozen FM radios that have mushroomed out of thin air offer non stop enticements to the young to express their 'love' to their chosen ones! Not having a partner is some kind of a sin here. And frightfully, the response is huge though there is no means of verifying if it was just vicarious thrill or true love that was riding the crest of the air waves. The legal marriageable age is 18, but courtship, perhaps, can start much earlier. In any case, the new media, unimpeded by any law, looks determined to spread teenage promiscuity. Doubting parents should stay tuned to the impending Valentine's day 'celebs', as they call it!

        Film directors admit that their movies are aimed at the youth with whatever stuff that would excite them, because they are the ones who throng the theatre. And in contrast to the heroes of the past, who at least paid some lip service to lofty things, the current crop of stars are bent on convincing their young audiences that the best qualification for seeking the hand of a girl is to be a rif-raf! And these heroes seem to be succeeding in this holy venture, if some recent confessions of reel influence on real time crime is any indication. Of course, thanks to the TV serials, young minds are already quite update on how to handle intricate domestic tiffs with even blood and gore ceasing to shock them. And taking the cake is the new fad: social networking sites on the web wherein you fall in love, not with faces, but e-mail IDs and virtual profiles. But denying them those gadgets and the attendant spin offs, would be akin to disempowering them in a highly competitive world. The kids win, only to lose later, if things go awry!

        The gen-next child is not a father, but truly a great grandfather of man. The parent is often not just clueless, but hopelessly out of sync with them, frequently rendered more puerile than their progeny. Keeping pace is truly a challenge in the light of waning parental control and rising external influences. Encouraging transparency and discreet monitoring will help. But, more important, parents will have to step into the shoes of the children who have clearly outgrown those. At least the adults can then feel the pinch!