The Vanishing Face of Childhood

“Heaven lies about us in our infancy.”
— William Wordsworth.

Wordsworth would have hung his head in shame if he were alive to see the children struggling under heavy weight satchels on their delicate back, to school.

A 14‑year‑old ninth‑grade student named Ashirnanda attending an English medium Convent School in Palakkad, Kerala, died by suicide after allegedly being moved to a lower academic class as punishment for poor exam performance. Her family explained that the public humiliation and mental harassment of being placed in the “below‑average” division deeply affected her mental state.

In the name of academic excellence, a silent epidemic is spreading across schools in our country, that is eroding the very fabric of childhood. The laughter in playgrounds is fading, the sparkle in young eyes is dimming, and instead of curiosity and creativity, anxiety and exhaustion are taking root. Today’s education system, in its race to produce high-achieving, test-ready students, is creating an environment that borders on psychological oppression. We are turning our children into machines programmed for rote learning rather than nurturing them as evolving human minds in their most vulnerable, formative years.

Childhood is meant to be a time of wonder, spontaneity, discovery, and play. But what happens when playtime is sacrificed at the altar of syllabus completion? When a six-year-old spends more time with textbooks than toys? When marks become a metric for self-worth? The truth is chilling: we are stealing childhood from our children under the guise of ‘education’.

From as early as kindergarten, children are burdened with homework, unit tests, Olympiads, tuitions, and performance expectations. This academic pressure is no longer reserved for adolescents preparing for board exams or competitive entrances, it now starts before a child even learns to tie their shoelaces.

Schools, instead of being havens of exploration and holistic development, have increasingly become factories of conformity. Timetables are packed with academic periods, co-curricular activities are either sidelined or turned into competitive showcases, and the fear of failure hangs over every child like a dark cloud. The result? A generation of children growing up with chronic stress, low self-esteem, and in many cases, mental health issues that go unnoticed or are brushed aside.

The human brain undergoes its most critical developmental phase between the ages of 2 and 10. During this time, children’s brains are highly plastic meaning they are extraordinarily responsive to experiences. This period is foundational for emotional regulation, social behavior, cognitive flexibility, creativity, and language acquisition. But it is also a time when the brain is vulnerable.

When a child is repeatedly exposed to high stress, like the pressure of academic achievement, fear of punishment for failure, lack of adequate play and rest, it activates the body’s stress-response system. Prolonged activation of this system in young children can alter brain architecture, impair memory and learning, and lead to emotional dysregulation.

What is alarming is that the frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving does not fully develop until a person is in their mid-20s. Yet, we are demanding adult-like output from a brain that is still very much under construction. This mismatch between developmental capability and academic expectation is not just unfair, it is harmful.

Cognitive neuroscientists and child psychologists have long warned that children cannot process excessive information in the same way adults can. Overloading them with facts, figures, and formulas, without enough time for consolidation through play, rest, and social interaction, leads to confusion, anxiety, and often a sense of failure. In the long run, this can sow the seeds for lifelong issues such as impostor syndrome, learned helplessness, or academic burnout.

In today's school system, success is narrowly defined. If a child does not score above 90%, you are either "average" or "below average." If he or she does not shine in class, then the child is “not focused enough." The labels stick and worse, children internalize them.

The tragedy here is that children begin to associate their self-worth with their academic performance. A child who struggles in math is not given support tailored to their learning style, instead, he/she is often shamed or left behind. The result is an epidemic of low self-esteem. They stop believing in their abilities, withdraw from learning, and carry the burden of inadequacy for years.

Moreover, many schools are still stuck in one-size-fits-all teaching methods, with little accommodation for diverse learning needs. Dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences are often misdiagnosed as laziness or bad behavior. Without proper understanding and intervention, these children are pushed into a spiral of failure and frustration. We are not just failing these children academically—we are damaging their confidence and their belief in their potential.

There is another silent weapon at home that sharpens itself and awaits the child’s return from school: Parental pressure. Worse than institutional pressure is the trauma inflicted at home. Children today are not just expected to do well—they are expected to be perfect. Scoring 80% is “not enough.” Coming second is “not good enough.” This narrative is repeated by many parents who, driven by societal status, peer comparisons, or their own unfulfilled dreams, place unrealistic expectations on their children.

For many children, home is no longer a sanctuary. It becomes an extension of the classroom—a second site of surveillance, comparison, and punishment.

These are some real-life horror stories:

• In April 2023, a 13-year-old girl in Karnataka was beaten to death by her father for scoring low marks in an exam. The father, a daily wage laborer, believed the beating would “teach her discipline.” She died on the spot.
• In Maharashtra, a 12-year-old boy died by suicide in 2022 after he was constantly scolded and compared to a “topper cousin.” A note was found where he wrote, “I am not good enough. Sorry I failed you, Papa.”
• In Uttar Pradesh, a father doused his 10-year-old son in kerosene and set him ablaze for failing in math. The child succumbed to injuries after three days of agony.

Please do not make the mistake of considering these as isolated incidents. They are a reflection of a disturbing mindset where academic underperformance is treated as a moral failing, punishable by abuse or humiliation.

Such parental cruelty often stems from ignorance about child psychology and deep social conditioning. But the impact on children is profound and irreversible. In many cases, it leads to lifelong trauma, trust issues, and permanent damage to self-worth.

It’s high time for a wakeup call! Mental health among children is in crisis, though few are willing to acknowledge it. According to multiple national and international studies, symptoms of anxiety and depression are rising alarmingly in school-aged children. Self-harm, performance anxiety, and sleep disorders are becoming more common, even in children as young as 8 or 9 years old.

The constant pressure to perform coupled with a lack of emotional support and time for unstructured play—creates a toxic environment. Add to that the comparison with peers, relentless parent expectations, and the glorification of “toppers” in classrooms, and you have a perfect recipe for chronic stress. Children are not being taught resilience. They are being taught that anything less than perfection is failure.

Furthermore, in most schools, mental health support is either tokenistic or entirely absent. Counsellors, if present, are often overwhelmed or undertrained. Teachers are rarely given mental health training, even though they are the first line of contact with students. The system is designed to keep pushing students forward, regardless of whether their minds and emotions are breaking down under the weight.

The deeper question we must ask ourselves is: What kind of citizens are we trying to raise? Do we want obedient rote-learners who fear failure, or emotionally intelligent, curious, creative problem-solvers who can thrive in the real world?

In our obsession with academic excellence, we are forgetting that empathy, resilience, cooperation, and innovation are equally, if not more, important. Play teaches negotiation, teamwork, problem-solving, and self-control. Art fosters creativity and emotional expression. Free time allows for introspection and identity formation. When we strip these away in favour of more tests and more tuitions, we are stripping away the very skills that define successful adulthood.

Countries with the highest-performing students, like Finland have already proven that less is more. Children there don’t start formal schooling until the age of 7. Homework is minimal. Exams are rare until high school. And yet, students consistently rank among the highest in global education metrics. Why? Because their system respects the rhythm of childhood and prioritizes wellbeing over test scores.

It is time we take a hard look at our schooling system and make radical, child-centric changes. This is a call not just for educational reform, but for a moral awakening.

What must be done?

• Curriculum Overhaul: Shift focus from rote memorization to experiential, inquiry-based learning. Reduce syllabus load drastically in the early years.
• Prioritize Play and Creativity: Mandate daily unstructured playtime and integrate art, music, and drama into the curriculum as core subjects.
• Mental Health Support: Appoint qualified counsellors in every school. Train teachers to identify signs of distress. Destigmatize seeking help.
• Flexible Assessment: Replace standardized testing with portfolio-based assessments and formative feedback.
• Support for Diverse Learners: Screen for learning differences early and offer tailored support without labelling or stigmatizing.
• Parental Awareness: Launch campaigns to educate parents on brain development and the dangers of academic pressure.

The childhood of our children is not a rehearsal for adulthood. It is a once-in-a-lifetime phase that shapes everything that comes after. Every worksheet that replaces a walk in the park, every grade that defines self-worth, and every punishment meted out for curiosity or distraction chips away at the joy of learning.

If we truly care about the future of our nation, we must care about the minds and hearts of its youngest citizens. Let us build schools that nurture rather than oppress, that inspire rather than intimidate. Let us protect childhood like the treasure it is.

Because when we take away the joy of learning, we don’t just fail the child, we fail humanity.

William Blake so aptly summed up the demerits of institutional education systems that crush individuality, creativity, and freedom of thought through blind conformity and punitive discipline when he wrote, “Thank God I was never sent to school / To be flogged into following the style of a fool."

The environmentalists would say, “what kind of a planet are we leaving for our future generation?” My question is: what kind of a future generation are we leaving for the planet?

Think about it!

(This article is written by Dr. Srabani Basu, Associate Professor, Department of Literature and Languages, SRM University AP.. This is an opinionated article; EPN has nothing to do with this editorial.)