SynTalk

Do kids understand adults? Does foetus feel pain and pleasure? What does the world look like from the crib? Is the new born infant alert, aware & awake, & not confused? What are kids pre-wired for, & is pre-wiring largely genetic? Do we learn fear? Do new-borns get bored? How do children learn, and (what) do they need to be taught? How is grammar learnt? When do kids start becoming autonomous? Have you experienced the Terrible Twos? When does a child stop being a child? Is the concept of late childhood a product of modernity? Must adolescence be a ‘productive’ period? Do children have rights? What exactly is childhood ‘innocence’, & must childhood be valourized? Can some kids be unusually cruel? Is parenthood naturally anxiety inducing? Might the absence of disclosure of love for the child be a problem? What might indiscriminate ‘limit setting’ by parents lead to? Is it hard, however, to always be a calm carefree parent? How different and similar are kids from each other, & is it alright to compare them? What is the long term future of childhood? Should kids be free? Would the basis of innateness be established in the long term? Would such a world be dystopian? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from psychology (Prof. Malavika Kapur, NIAS, Bangalore), sociology (Dr. Shilpa Phadke, TISS, Mumbai), & developmental paediatrics (Dr. Koyeli Sengupta, Ummeed, Mumbai). Listen in…