What should we "draw" on this "blank sheet of paper"?

(Baonghean) - Last week, the article "Don't let the souls of children be 'corrupted'!" by author Hai Trieu in the "Let's Reflect Together" section, published in the Nghe An Weekend newspaper on August 16th, received the third highest number of votes for best article. Here are some comments on the article…

Children are often compared to blank sheets of paper; with skillful guidance from adults, a beautiful, bright picture can be created. For children, especially those in preschool and elementary school, they are not yet aware of their own actions and often follow the teachings of their grandparents, parents, and teachers. From a young age, children are educated morally through fairy tales. Stories like Tấm Cám, Trầu Cau, Thạch Sanh… told by their grandmothers and mothers, are lessons in morality, awakening in each child the seeds of goodness and illuminating their humanity… Sadly and alarmingly, many fairy tale comic books are now appearing with content and presentation altered to keep up with trends. Under the pretext of trying to "modernize" fairy tales to cater to students, many comic books are being "modified" in a way that is difficult to understand.

In most of these modernized versions of the fairy tale, interesting details have been cut out, and replaced with "modernized" slang. This "modification" is intended to create humor and make it more accessible to young people, but in reality, it has the opposite effect. Modern versions of the Tam Cam story appear on many websites as entertainment. However, the đáng thing is that although the plot of Tam Cam remains the same, the dialogue and situations are distorted. For example, a passage in the story depicts Cam's mother scolding Tam: "Tam! I forbade you from stir-frying mushrooms with vinegar! Are you out of your mind? Be careful, or I'll punch you!" or: "Tam! Are you crazy? Are you mute? Why did you pierce the tray?" In this comic strip, Tam even plots to shoot leeches at Cam while Cam is sleeping in the field during an afternoon shrimp-catching trip. Next, Tam scolded Cam harshly: "How dare you steal my basket of shrimp?"… From that way of expressing herself, the image of the gentle and kind Tam was transformed into that of a cunning and wicked person…

Furthermore, the market is increasingly flooded with violent toys. Numerous studies in psychology have shown that many types of toys have values ​​similar to children's learning, and for young children, they undeniably play a significant role in skill development and personality formation. However, psychologists also affirm that each type of toy has a different psychological and intellectual impact. For example, building blocks and jigsaw puzzles help children develop their brains and thinking abilities. Violent toys, on the other hand, encourage children to explore and emulate characters from movies, striving to become heroes.

Children who are exposed to and play with violent toys from a young age will grow up to be aggressive and only want to win against others through violence, knives, swords, and guns. If children are obsessed with violent toys and violent video games, the negative psychological effects are immeasurable. This also explains why the number of juvenile delinquents is increasing. Psychologist To Thi Anh stated in an article: “If children are regularly exposed to an educational and humane environment, their souls will be close to nature and the essence of humanity, and they will grow up with compassionate hearts. Conversely, children who are exposed to environments or entertainment habits involving violent games and toys will easily develop the habit of using violence to solve problems. Children who are not taught compassion will grow up with a lack of love and affection.”

Meanwhile, adults pay little attention to this factor when choosing books and toys for their children: “What are toy manufacturers thinking when they provide children with meaningless, useless, yet harmful entertainment? And what are parents thinking when they spend money buying such toys for their children, or do they even know what their children are playing with, watching, or listening to?” This leads to the reality: “If we keep writing meaningless, useless, and even harmful words on that piece of paper, gradually that pristine paper will be eroded and damaged without us even realizing it…” Parents, please be cautious when choosing books and toys for your children. Think carefully about what you intend to “draw” on that “blank sheet of paper” so that it won’t be “eroded and damaged”?

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