Tamil Nadu should be proud of its legacy of its nutritional programme that was launched a century ago and has now been adopted across the country, said Ramesh Raghavan, professor at the New York University Silver School of Social Work.
He was delivering the fourth edition of the Sundaram Fasteners Lecture Series here on Monday.
Mr. Ramesh, who spoke on ‘Supporting child and adolescent mental health in the context of social disadvantage abd parental mental illness’, said the effort was a classic example of social vaccine that helped in the development of the child.
Another example is the home visits of the village health nurse. He recalled a recent newspaper report on how schools used theatre in the classroom that was an effective way of social and emotional learning for a child. Such programmes helped the child to manage her community better, he said.
According to him, teaching soft skills to children in school would build their competencies.
The issue of reaching out to the population is easily addressed as the country had a large network of anganwdis and balwadis, he pointed out. An understanding of the problems surrounding the children would help to address issues that range from socioeconomic status of the family to the environment the child that is growing up.
Chetna Duggal, associate professor from Tata Institute of Social Research, Prof. Ramesh and K.V. Krishna Kumar, Director of The Banyan and Balm, discussed the various issues that impact children – from the mental illness of a parent to the environment the child is exposed to while growing up. Ms. Duggal said around 7% to 10% of youngsters have mental health issues and suicide as a cause for death is underrepresented in the country.
A survey of suicides in Kota’s coaching schools revealed that children were under intense pressure to perform. Some parents had pledged their property and wanted their child to succeed in the common entrance tests for engineering and medicine.
According to Mr. Kumar, as per the 2015-16 data, around 1% of the country’s population could have mental health issues. He felt that it is a blessing that the community supports its citizens.
The conversation was moderated by N. Ram, Director of THG Publishing Ltd.
The speakers all agreed that it was necessary to build the competencies of children as it would reduce peer pressure. Earlier cinematographer P.C. Sreeram inaugurated a photo exhibition.
