Kites and the sky
- Rural children are so lucky, they have so many things to play with, unlike city kids!
My friend clicked his tongue, narrowed his eyes, and spoke thoughtfully. I jumped in surprise:
- You're saying the opposite; city children are supposedly more deprived than rural children?
Having material comforts is one thing, but having spiritual comforts is another!
"What do city kids spend their time on? If they're not attending extra classes (and even that 'if' is as rare as the African elephants on the verge of extinction), they'll spend all day at home, with the fan or air conditioner on. And that's understandable; it's scorching hot outside, only idiots would venture out, or useless office workers like you and me."
What do they do at home? Watch TV: K+ is very popular these days. Use the computer: if there's no internet at home, don't worry, they can use the shared connection from the air-conditioned cafes next door. Browse Facebook, play fruit slicing games: most parents' smartphones—iPhones, Samsung Notes, or at the very least...Hiphones—are mostly used to serve their children's gaming needs. All modern, energy-consuming entertainment! As a result, most city children suffer from nearsightedness, and worse, autism—how disastrous!
"What do you say? I still see kids hanging around and eating out. What's so nutritious about all that stuff full of artificial colors and chemical sweeteners? City streets are dusty, it'll only give you lung problems. Not to mention they walk in groups of five or three, playing and squabbling, it's terrifying. So I've decided, I have to take my daughter everywhere she goes. Speaking of my little 'factory-farmed' daughter, she's in 8th grade and still doesn't know how to cross the road. But what can I do? The road in front of our house is full of accidents all the time, I can't take my eyes off her!"
That's why city children are so deprived! Firstly, they lack life experience. They spend all day glued to TVs, computers, and phones, knowing nothing about the real world they live in. It's easier to ask them what Western or Chinese pop stars eat or wear than to ask them about the plants and animals in their house or outside. Ultimately, it's because we expose them to modern technology without guiding them on how to use it in a healthy way and in a manner consistent with its original purpose.
Are we actually using these conveniences appropriately, or are we just following trends, seeking prestige, and inadvertently setting a bad example for our children? We believe that modernity means using this computer or that phone, while in truly modern countries, balancing value and usage needs in a way that is economical, convenient, and useful is what people value.
Secondly, there's a lack of affection. I rarely see Western children with autism because they spend all day watching TV or wasting time in the virtual world, while here it's rampant! Instead of dedicating time to family activities, allowing children to live in love and care, parents carelessly abandon them to emotionless machines, causing their human emotions to become numb. It's dangerous when tools meant to serve humans become our masters, replacing parents in educating and nurturing the healthy mental and emotional development of our children.”
The more I listen, the more reasonable it seems. My childhood memories of riding on the backs of buffaloes, playing kites, flutes, and other games with my children—it all sounds absurd and fantastical. City children don't know about such lovely, traditional games anymore. Is it because from a young age they've been instilled with a passive, weak, and reluctant habit of venturing outside their high-rise buildings to find a clear blue sky free from the smog of cement factories?
Perhaps the more developed and modern life becomes, the more the space for individual freedom shrinks, becoming distant and cramped, like the sky in the mouth of a well where skinny frogs hide? I sighed, suddenly feeling nostalgic for a kite. And where have I hidden my child's kite?!
Hai Trieu
