Behavioural changes in children

The general complaint of parents today is that their children are stuck to mobile phones, television screens, online gaming, and social media instead of focusing on studying, or creative activities. Parents often report that children have become increasingly self-centred, argumentative, impatient, and, at times, disrespectful in their behaviour toward their parents and elders. This raises a serious question: Is it technology that has made them this way, or have parents, teachers, and schools also played a role in this behavioural shift? With declining discipline and weakening moral values, the issue is no longer limited to academics; it is now affecting child’s emotional health, social development, and future behaviour.

This is the story of every second home in Kashmir today. During holidays or after school hours, both children and their parents keep themselves busy scrolling through reels or playing online games. Despite living under the same roof, families are emotionally distant from each other. Scientifically, excessive screen time affects attention span, sleep patterns, and brain development. Morally, unregulated access to the internet exposes children to inappropriate content, confusion, and value dilemmas. Physically, the lack of outdoor activity leads to health hazards such as obesity, weak eyesight, and a sedentary lifestyle. Clearly, this is a growing concern that needs immediate attention.

However, the responsibility does not lie with children alone. Parents must lead by example. A child who sees a father constantly on his phone or a mother scrolling through social media will naturally imitate the same behaviour. Children learn more from observation than instruction. Families must create “device-free hours,” especially during meals and evenings, to rebuild emotional connection inside the home. Instead of handing over a phone to keep a child “busy” or “silent,” parents, especially mother should spend time talking, playing, and listening to their children. In today’s environment, fixing children’s behaviour is impossible without first improving parental behaviour.

Secondly, there is a pressing need to introduce awareness sessions on social media, online gaming addiction, cyber-safety, and emotional well-being in every school. Along with academic subjects, at least one dedicated hour per week should be allotted to behavioural science, focusing on empathy, discipline, respect, patience, and the importance of family, teachers, and society. Moral education, once an essential part of schooling, has now faded into the background. It must return with renewed emphasis, as it plays a crucial role in shaping character.

Thirdly, regular Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) should be made mandatory, ideally once every month. Today, such meetings are rare in many institutions. The widening gap between parents and teachers leaves children unmonitored from both sides, making them vulnerable to behavioural decline.

Fourthly, instead of inviting parents to deliver lectures, schools should involve them in activity-based programmes where children and parents participate together. Under the National Education Policy (NEP), such experiential learning can be integrated to expose students to diverse life perspectives in a practical manner.

Fifthly, discipline must be restored without resorting to corporal punishment. Positive discipline methods that teach responsibility, self-control, and accountability should be adopted.

Finally, children’s activities at school and home need constant observation. Parents should communicate behavioural changes to teachers, and teachers should alert parents when they notice patterns in class.

Technology is not the enemy; unregulated and unguided exposure is. Digital literacy must go hand-in-hand with moral literacy.

In the pursuit of modernity, are we unintentionally allowing our children to drift away from core human values? If technology makes life faster and smarter, who will nurture empathy, respect, patience, and emotional intelligence?

This brings us to a crucial concern: How can we inculcate human values and positive behavioural traits in our children alongside technological progress?