The heat is definitely on. It's just March but the sun is looking down fiercely on us hapless denizens. And we have so many more months to plod through - April, May, June, July, August... whew.
The heat is on in other areas of life also. March is exam time for most students and whenever it is exam time, there is a corresponding rise in the rate of students committing suicide.
The intense competition in every sphere - higher marks, better jobs (read that as high-paying), peer pressure, pressure from parents - is pushing young lives to the brink of suicide. The trend this year has become so alarming that the Human Resources Development ministry in India called a brainstorming meeting on March 24 to discuss the problem and come up with ways to stem the suicides.
Not that there was no exam stress during our times, but say most experts, the child of today is under greater stress. More of a materialistic lifestyle, parents who have little time as they work and work harder to gather consumerist delights and give their ward the best, the death of the joint family structure, competition from premier institutes such as IIT and IIMs, a global standard to aspire to - all these are becoming too much for the child to handle.
The pressure today is not just academic. Leading the table of stress reasons is relationship problems and also the pressure to look good accelarated by dime a dozen videos of showbiz stars with hourglass figures, pouting glitzy lips, glossy hair, perfect legs and what not.
While these changes have made the child of today more mature, one who knows his or her mind, more focussed it has also brought with it a lifestyle change where parents and teachers along with the child need to be counselled on how to meet the fast-changing world with nanosecond changes which leave you stunned and in a whirl.
{{/usCountry}}While these changes have made the child of today more mature, one who knows his or her mind, more focussed it has also brought with it a lifestyle change where parents and teachers along with the child need to be counselled on how to meet the fast-changing world with nanosecond changes which leave you stunned and in a whirl.
{{/usCountry}}Added to this is the sedentary lifestyle brought about by hi-tech - mobile phones, internet, television of course, video games, Children today hardly go out and indulge in outdoor sports. One they don't have time what with tuitions and coaching classes, secondly when they do have time they prefer to indulge in sedentary activities which does not help much to dissipate and dissolve negative thoughts.
An hour out in the grounds in the fresh air, kicking a ball around, or hammering away at a a tennis ball or leaping high to net that basket has the blood thrumming through the veins and pumps into a person so many positive qualities - team spirit, learning how to lose (this is one thing students today need to learn. Many commit suicide when they fail to live up to their own expectations), coordination, leadership qualities, planning and strategising, learning to strike when the moment is right, comradeship - the benefits are endless.
And when you return after an exhilarating game, you hardly have time to sit down and brood over the paper that went badly.
The rising mental stress in students is found not just in India but also in the western world.
According to The Telegraph, the survey of 2,000 girls aged 14 and 15 found that they feel under pressure from all sides and are struggling to cope.
The main reasons for their worry are "too much pressure to succeed academically" (62 per cent), "too much homework" (84 per cent), a "rise in broken families/divorce" (52 per cent) and "drugs and alcohol too readily available" (42 per cent). They also think there is "too much pressure to look good" (94 per cent).
An expert suggests that more than children today, it is the adults who need counselling on how to handle the child's problems.
A prudent suggestion and something that adults need to chew upon.