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| Why is there no space for childhood in newspapers? | | | Priyanka Saurabh
On Sunday morning, my wish to read an interesting children’s story from the newspaper while holding my son Pragyan in my lap remained unfulfilled. There was not a single article for children in any major newspaper. Society asks children to read, but what does it give them to read? This editorial deeply hurts the indifference of our newspapers towards children and demands that regular space be reserved for children in newspapers - so that childhood is connected with words, nurtured with empathy and flourished with thoughts.
It was a Sunday morning. I felt like holding my son Pragyan in my lap and we both should read an interesting story from the newspaper – so that he could enjoy the sweetness of words even in the modern screen age. But to our regret, we found that there was not a single story, comic book or Bal Samvad available for children in the reputed newspapers. This question, born out of this pain, demands a collective reflection – “When we do not print anything for children in our newspapers, then by what right do we expect them to read?”
Child’s mind: A blank page
Our education system, parents and society often say in one voice that today’s children do not read books. They are lost in the world of mobile, Instagram and gaming. But why does no one ask what are we giving them to read? Newspaper, which was once a part of every household’s morning - has now become a complete “battlefield of adults” for children, political fights, allegations and counter-allegations of politicians, rapes, murders, corruption, cricket, movies and yoga tips. Where are Raja Ki Baat, Hathi Ki Sawari, science fiction, moon poetry, and short stories teaching life values?
When the kids aren’t visible
In today’s newspapers children “appear” in only two ways -
When a child is a victim of sexual violence or murder. Or when a child becomes the crown jewel of the media by scoring 99.9% marks in the board exams. Can the experience of being a child be understood in such limited contexts? Newspapers have isolated children from society and put them in such a silence where neither their creative voice is heard nor their inquisitive eyes are seen.
Absence of editorial foresight
The main objective of any newspaper is - “To make the society aware and to give direction to its thinking.” Then why is there no page for children, the foundation of the whole society? Has today’s editor become so busy that he does not even remember that it is his responsibility to pass on the torch of culture and thoughts to the next generation? There was a time when newspapers used to involve children in the dialogue through sections like “Bal Jagat”, “Bal Prabha”, “Bal Goshthi”, “Bal Mail”. Today they have either been closed or lost in the strange crowd of online links.
The onslaught of advertising and marketing
Children today are not ‘subscribers’ for newspapers. They do not buy shampoo or refrigerators. That is why they have no ‘advertising value’ in the language of the “market”. And where the language of advertising starts dictating policy, childhood becomes meaningless.
About 40% of every newspaper is filled with advertisements - real estate, clothes, coaching centres, hospitals, branded watches... Nowhere do we see a newspaper asking, “What are we teaching the children?”
When children’s literature disappears
Children’s literature is not just entertainment—it is the primary school for children to think, question, imagine, and connect with society. A story in which a tree bears its fruits, a bird builds a nest, a child with his friend gives water to the birds—all these give the seeds of humanity to children. When these stories are removed, there remains only drama, sensation, and data. And this insensitivity grows in the coming generation.
Is study and knowledge only school work?
Our society has given the contract of children’s education to schools only. Newspaper, which used to be the ‘home school’, has now limited itself to ‘gossip of adults’. Are children not worthy of news? Should they not be told about science, environment, morality, and society?
If we want children to become “sensible citizens” then
We need to engage them with dialogue and questions from the very beginning – and newspapers can be a powerful place for this.
What can be done?
Weekly ‘Children’s Edition’ should be restarted - there should be a special section for children every Sunday or twice a month. There should be Bal Samvad and picture stories - which should include moral values, curiosity about science and introduction to society. Children’s writings should be published - poems, pictures, questions, thoughts. Children’s journalism should be encouraged - children should be asked to write at school level, which should also be published. Inspiring ‘Children’s Heroes’ should be shown - which should also be available outside the screen.
Son Pragyan said to me that morning -
“Mother, is there nothing for children in your newspaper?”
I remained silent. This silence is not just of a mother, but of an entire society. And when newspapers are the mirror of society, then the innocent curiosity of millions of children like Pragyan must find a place in this mirror. If we want readers, writers and sensitive citizens to be born in tomorrow’s India -
So in today’s newspapers a page will have to be reserved for wisdom also. |
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