When childhood goes awry: a wake-up call for society
THE reported involvement of a 13-year-old granddaughter among four minors allegedly held in connection with the murder of a man in Alappuzha is deeply disturbing.
In another bizarre incident, the brutal murder of a school principal in Telangana, allegedly by two Class 10 students, is yet another chilling reminder that something is going seriously wrong with the way some children are growing up.
Kallu Roopa Reddy, a private school principal in Nalgonda district, was allegedly stabbed 27 times after the students entered her home to steal money. Police have arrested two minors in connection with the crime.
What is even more disturbing is the alleged motive. Investigators say the teenagers were driven by the desire for quick money and an extravagant lifestyle.
A desire for material possessions, peer influence, easy money and an inability to accept correction appear to have combined into a deadly chain of events.
Beyond the details of the cases, the incidents raise a larger and uncomfortable question: Are we failing our children?
Children do not suddenly become capable of violence in a vacuum. Their behaviour is shaped by what they see, hear and experience at home, in school, among friends and increasingly on screens.
Exposure to violent content, unhealthy peer influence, substance abuse, broken family relationships, neglect and the absence of meaningful adult guidance can gradually blur a child's understanding of right and wrong.
The digital world has added another dimension to the problem. Children today have unprecedented access to content that previous generations encountered only much later in life.
Violence, revenge and criminal behaviour are often presented as entertainment, while social media can amplify peer pressure and the desire for recognition. A child may imitate behaviour without fully understanding its consequences.
But it would be wrong to blame technology alone. The first line of protection is the family.
Parents and guardians must know whom their children spend time with, what they watch, what troubles them and what influences their decisions. Providing food, education and material comforts is not enough. Children need attention, conversation, affection and boundaries.
Schools too have a responsibility that goes beyond academic achievement. Teachers are often among the first adults to notice changes in a child's behaviour — aggression, isolation, sudden decline in studies or disturbing friendships. Such warning signs should not be dismissed as mere teenage mischief.
At the same time, society must resist the temptation to label children involved in serious offences simply as "criminals". Accountability is essential, but so is understanding. A 13-year-old is still a child. The juvenile justice system must protect society while also asking what went wrong in that child's life and whether rehabilitation is possible.
The Alappuzha case should therefore become more than another crime story that disappears from public memory after a few days. It should prompt parents, teachers, authorities and communities to look closely at the environment in which our children are growing up.
A society that notices a child's mistake only after a crime has been committed has noticed it too late.
Our children need discipline, but they also need direction. They need freedom, but also limits. Above all, they need adults who listen before they judge.
The warning signs may be around us. We cannot afford to wait for another tragedy before we pay attention.
