There is a cause to worry. The absence of real-world interactions, deficient time dedicated by parents towards their children, and the obligations to meet deadlines of office has spawned newer abnormalities in children, one being Virtual autism. Child Guidance and Wellbeing Centre (CGWC) which runs under the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) at SMHS in Srinagar reports that Kashmir is witnessing a noticeable surge in virtual autism cases among children.
The shift to online learning and increased screen time during the pandemic has contributed to this concerning trend, raising awareness about the potential impact of extended digital exposure on children’s neurodevelopment in the region. This is hugely significant that perhaps for the first time in the history of mankind a perfectly well-born baby develops autism-like features because his parents gave him too much exposure to digital content while never involving themselves in the general well-being of the child, never interacting with it, never skipping a few deadlines to dedicate quite a good number of man hours for the child.
The result is before us. The child’s attention span is corrupted at an early age, he is not able to focus on things that he should be focusing on. According to doctors in Kashmir excessive screen time, lack of interaction with parents, limited real-world interactions, and insufficient physical play contribute to this phenomenon. The doctors recommend a multidisciplinary approach, including speech therapy, remedial education, occupational therapy, behavioral modification, and parental management training, is highly recommended for effectively addressing issues related to virtual autism.
What has life come to? The pressure of the workplace has overwhelmed us so much that now we do not have enough time to play with our children! This is a sad series of events. Children suffering such serious abnormality so early in life have lesser chances of developing into mentally and physically fit human being. That means we are deliberately doing injustice with our future generations. We owe an apology to them.
The parents must understand that no matter how many man hours they put in the office they still have to come home and play with their children. It is a cardinal duty of a parent. Two hours minimum play with the children is an absolute must. There should be no compromise on that. Absolutely not.
