Tag: children

World Rabies Day: Street play educates children on stray dogs and rabies risks

A gathering of over 30 individuals, primarily comprised of children, gathered to witness the street play titled ‘Shumbhu Nath Sab Janta Hai.’

Animal activists took to the streets at Mayawati Colony, Indira Nagar, kicking off the two-day ‘Nukkad Natak’ campaign on World Rabies Day to promote awareness about rabies prevention and the care of stray animals. (HT File)

LUCKNOW On the occasion of World Rabies Day (September 28), a coalition of animal welfare workers, veterinarians, NGO representatives, and other stakeholders engaged in street plays spanning two days to disseminate crucial information about rabies. This effort comes in response to the alarming statistic of approximately 55,000 rabies-related deaths occurring annually in India.

According to the World Health Organisation, India accounts for nearly 36% of global rabies fatalities. The Indian branch of Humane Society International, which also partners with Lucknow Municipal Corporation for the sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs, spearheaded the “nukkad natak” initiative. This innovative approach aimed to enlighten passersby and bystanders at two prominent locations that regularly attract crowds.

A gathering of over 30 individuals, primarily comprised of children, gathered to witness the street play titled ‘Shumbhu Nath Sab Janta Hai.’ The play centred on three young children breaking away from the conventional treatment of stray dogs by humans, emphasising compassion over irritation.

Dr Abhinav Verma, animal welfare officer at the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, said, “By amalgamating entertainment and education, the street play left an indelible impression on onlookers, imparting knowledge and fostering positive behaviours aimed at mitigating the risk of rabies.”

In a similar vein, Dr Sanjay Ahir, senior manager of the Street Dog Program at HSI/India, said, “In Lucknow, we are committed to creating a safer environment for both dogs and our communities. This World Rabies Day, we have added a creative twist through skits to raise awareness, striving for the holistic well-being of humans and dogs — one act at a time.”

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/world-rabies-day-street-play-educates-children-on-stray-dogs-and-rabies-risks-101695901668231.html

Eyeing viral content, vloggers lure kids, stage abductions

The quest for viral videos has hit a dangerous new low among so-called social media influencers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as they have begun to use minors for clickbait content, often endangering their lives.
These #CarPrank videos have the same template. The driver gives lift to an unsuspecting minor (mostly boys), develops familiarity with him, then tells him that he is being kidnapped. The child, in most cases, tries to open the car door and flee, but is prevented physically or through auto lock of the car. The child is scared with fake syringes, drugs and in other ways to evoke a dramatic reaction.
The footage is recorded on a dashcam fitted inside the car and later edited with emotive music and popular memes to elicit laughs.

Some of these videos have more than 5 lakh views on YouTube and over 60 lakh views on Instagram. TOI made several attempts to reach these vloggers, but did not get a response.

The videos usually end with an “educational message”, warning children against taking lifts from strangers, ostensibly to absolve the makers of the accountability of making a dangerous prank. None of the videos mention if consent of the parents was taken prior to making the reels.

One of the most popular videos, which went viral before being removed from YouTube for violating guidelines, is from a channel called ‘Rider Salman’ with more than 68,000 subscribers. In the video, the driver gives a lift to a boy aged around 12 and then calls up someone and informs them that a boy has been found and “looks good”.

The driver’s friends sitting in the backseat take out a syringe. The scared child pleads them to stop and then tries to jump from a moving vehicle, screaming for help. Though removed from YouTube, clippings continue to remain viral on Instagram.

TOI scanned through the video sharing platform and found more than 15 similar videos, with views ranging from 50,000 to 5 lakh.

The vloggers are in constant pursuit of bizarre elements. For instance, a video by channel ‘Kakinada Prankster’ has a shot of lifting the shirt of a teenage boy, who was offered lift. The driver talks of “de-sexing” the terrified boy and pushing him into sex trafficking and begging.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/eyeing-viral-content-vloggers-lure-kids-stage-abductions/articleshow/99177397.cms?from=mdr

Parenting tips: Handling children’s aggression and tantrums as schools reopen

In the absence of school, playgrounds and a lot of other group activities during the pandemic – children accepted that as normal. Now as they start going back to school, we can see signs of social anxiety in them along with communication issues. Here’s how to handle their aggression and tantrums
children thinking
Parenting tips: Handling children’s aggression and tantrums as schools reopen (Photo by Christopher Ryan on Unsplash)

The lifting of the Covid-19 lockdown in the third year of the coronavirus pandemic has seen the best of us resent returning to physical work and children are more than justified to feel overwhelmed with the same transition of resuming school. While adults dealt with the new norm of work-from-home and the job insecurities that followed the varied lockdowns, children too were left to deal with adapting from physical school to a purely indoor and online setup and the last two years have left them confused hence, going back to school has seen many children now expressing in the form of behavioural issues.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Khushboo Thakker Garodia, Homeopath, Trichologist, Nutrition and Stress Management Expert, shared, “In the absence of school, playgrounds and a lot of other group activities during the pandemic – children especially the very young ones accepted that as normal. 0-4 is the age when the maximum development of social and communication skills happen and due to the lockdown, the children were confined to their homes with no interaction with the outside world, no school, no stimulation for language. So now as they start going back to school we can see signs of social anxiety in them along with communication issues – This is often presented as tantrums bordering towards aggression. Even older children have experienced the same.”

Managing in a less than ideal situation, endless tantrums, scoffs, yells, sniffles of children refusing to be dragged from their comfort zone, the monitor and attending physical school, has all been an endless nightmare for many parents. Couple it with their professional deadlines, it seemed an endless dark pit and they realised that when circumstances weren’t normal, parenting won’t be normal.

What sets children off?

According to Dr Aarti Bakshi, Developmental Psychologist and SEL Consultant at SAAR Education, “Tantrums occur when they’re irritated by a problem that’s too big for them. They haven’t yet learned how to control their impulses or work out conflicts in socially acceptable ways.” Echoing the same, Dr Khushboo Thakker Garodia revealed, “Tantrums happen because children are unable to accept the change and cannot communicate their needs and feelings – including the fact that now suddenly they have to leave their house, their parents and spend a few hours in a new place with a lot of new faces, so they might get frustrated. So simply put, tantrums are one of the ways that young children express and manage feelings, and try to understand or change what’s going on around them.”

Parenting tips for handling children’s aggression and tantrums as schools begin:

Dr Vanshika Gupta Adukia, Pregnancy/Childbirth and Lactation Specialist, Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist and the Founder of Therhappy, shared, “From separation anxiety and clinginess to being unable to sleep and feeling nauseated, shouting at parents, back answering or arguing are all signs of built-up frustration, nervousness and mood swings in children as they try to adapt. Allow for time so that children can gradually transition, help them interact better with peers by consciously organizing play dates. Check in your child often to keep conversations open about their feelings and keep an eye out for signs of them struggling.”

For confident parenting, Dr Aarti Bakshi suggested a few constructive strategies that work:

1. Nutritious meal planning, age-appropriate activity levels and proper sleep impact emotions, as well as ability to problem solve, stay calm.

2. Reduce stress by celebrating successes, no matter how small. Gratitude and mindfulness, long conversation helps a family to connect.

3. Don’t take it personally. A child’s misbehaviour reflects impulsivity or lack of SEL(social emotional learning) skills – not malice.

4. Get realistic expectations about your child’s ability to follow rules and comply with requests.

5. Focus on maintaining a positive relationship.

6. Asking for help is a superpower- “It takes a village to bring up a child” Seek other adults you trust to support when needed.

7. Identify and express emotions to responsibly manage situations.

She highlighted, “Dealing with aggression is very stressful, and stress hurts. It makes us ill, clouds our thinking, and damages relationships. Effective parenting includes setting boundaries, modelling expected behaviour to foster cooperation, settle arguments in a constructive way, and inject daily life with pleasant, loving family activities. Parents need to reorganize priorities. Involving kids in some problem solving supports further. Maintaining positive relations is more important than discipling endlessly. Sometimes you need to choose your battles.”

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