A hundred years ago, Mr. Lu Xun cried out in anguish: Save the children! His voice, like a grave drum at dawn, awakened the slumbering dragon of China after a hundred years. Countless righteous individuals have fought for this, allowing the Chinese nation to regain its grandeur.
Unexpectedly, the call to save the children has once again become a shocking reality today.
Reports indicate that currently, the pediatric psychiatric wards in hospitals are overwhelmed, with many elementary school students lining up outside waiting for beds for inpatient treatment.
It is unprecedented and deeply unsettling that so many young children are admitted to psychiatric hospitals. For those children with serious mental health issues, we do not know if they can be cured; even if they can, the time required will not be short. Even if they recover, it will affect them for a lifetime, just as grain that has encountered the cold dew wind finds it hard to be plump. If they cannot be cured, then the flowers of these children’s lives will wither before they even bloom.
Further surveys show that 30% of elementary school students in China have mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
The current state of children’s lives leads to mental health problems that tug at the heartstrings and require adults to reflect.
In Hangzhou, an elementary school student developed post-traumatic stress disorder from being bullied by classmates and fears going to school every day. In Henan, another elementary school student has developed low self-esteem due to family poverty and is unwilling to go to school each day.
Beyond the infiltration of negative social influences into schools and children, what’s more significant is the unbearable academic pressure and the jungle-like atmosphere in schools that devastate children.
All day, whether at school or home, children hear teachings and reprimands like, “If you don’t work hard now, how will you succeed in the future?” Their innate innocence is stripped away, replaced by a terrifying future imposed on them by schools and families. Teachers and parents force them to become learning machines.
Children’s lives are filled with stress; both school and home do not offer any respite. The once-boisterous playground during breaks is now silent. To finish their homework, children are afraid to come out and play.
Such psychological pressure and terrifying atmosphere far exceed what children can endure. Even as adults, one would find it very uncomfortable.
Children are crushed and deformed by their environment, to the extent that psychiatric hospitals have become their life stations.
It is imperative to focus on children’s mental health and provide them with a healthy growth environment without delay. Parents, teachers, society, and the nation should all take action to care for children instead of indirectly harming them.
A joyful childhood is incredibly important for a person’s life! It shapes a child’s character, integrity, and personality, establishing their lifelong values.
A child’s childhood should be like this—
Let us row our oars
The little boat pushes open the waves
The sea reflects the beautiful white tower
Surrounded by green trees and red walls
The little boat gently drifts in the water
A cool breeze blows our way
The red scarf greets the sun
Sunlight sprinkles on the sea surface
Fish in the water gaze at us
Silently listening to our joyful singing
The little boat gently drifts in the water
A cool breeze blows our way
After finishing a day’s homework
We come to enjoy ourselves
I ask you, dear partner
Who arranged this happy life for us?
The little boat gently drifts in the water
A cool breeze blows our way
It is precisely because the first 30 years provided children with happiness
