Jack and Jill – Innocence lost

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack and a girl named Jill. They were good friends and lived in the same neighbourhood. They went to school together, shared their tiffins with each other and played in the park every evening. Then one fine day, Jack and Jill heard and saw something about ‘the birds and the bees’. They were curious to know more but did not dare to ask their parents. Jack’s buddies showed him some magazines and Jill’s friends whispered something in her ears. On the way back from school, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

Has the popular nursery rhyme gone haywire? Going by the number of instances of child rape and molestation that one comes across in the media today, it would not be too surprising if old nursery rhymes were to be modified thus. Circa 2008 is at a stage when schools and colleges in countries abroad are advocating installation of condom vending machines in campuses to dissuade teenagers from engaging in unsafe sex. But what about our young Jack and Jill to whom ‘Moods’ or ‘Kamasutra’ mean nothing beyond “chee chee” product brands shown on television. These young impressionable minds exposed to suggestive graphics and images, raunchy lyrics and explicit music videos have nowhere to turn to for help.

The recent cases of nine and ten year olds being charged with sexual offences are appalling. This is more serious than perverted men abusing innocent lives. So, how do we prevent our tiny tots from falling prey to these life-sized threats? Proper sex education imparted in the right way, at the right time – it is not enough to learn the diagrammatic representation of the human reproductive system in Biology textbooks at the age of 15. With changing patterns of living, the onset of puberty has also advanced. It is therefore important that parents and teachers provide adequate information and emotional support to children as they go through this turbulent period in their lives. Shying away from such issues will lead curious minds to tread risky paths. Let us not be responsible for innocence lost.