It all started when...
we started asking teachers, administrators, parents about the issues they faced with their pre-teen students and children. The answer we consistently found was that there is a massive communication and information divide between the children and adults - it turns out, our children are growing up in a whole new India.
Children today are growing up in a media-saturated world and are starting puberty as young as 9 or 10.
Pre-teens in India have constant access to the Internet, an unlimited repository of information. Not all of that information is accurate or positive.
Social media and peer relationships have become a source of pressure for pre-teens. They are told to look and act in certain ways to fit in with their peers, but they receive strict rules and punishment at home. They feel torn in two directions.
In Indian homes, talking about romantic feelings, boyfriends and girlfriends, puberty, sexuality, periods, and general social anxiety is completely taboo.
Children have no way of getting positive, accurate information about the new feelings they are experiencing, the changes in their peer dynamics, and the changes in their bodies. They feel isolated. Many teens fall into depression or start bullying and inflicting violence on other children or themselves.
Kids look for answers in all the wrong places, leading to confusion and fear. This places them in dangerous situations.
The lack of information makes kids find answers through movies, the Internet, and pornography. They develop negative gender attitudes and body image. Without the right value-driven education, they can even engage in dangerous sexual behavior. At the worst level, these attitudes can even lead to assault.
