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Namah Notes on counselling

own peer group be comfortable in front of a many replied in the affirmative. Another
lion’s cage in the zoo? And this is surprising civilisational menace! Children should not
for such children actually enjoy viewing be denied enjoyment of the dark. Actually
animals, even caged animals in the zoo! In a they should learn to sharpen their sensory
kindergarten school situated in the premises acuity in the dark. This is the reason we play
which have a horse farm, children are brought ‘Blind man’s buff’ or enjoy the hide and seek
to enjoy viewing the horses which remain game while remaining concealed in a corner
standing in majestic poises. The children that may be dark.
soon learn to outgrow their feelings of fear
and insecurity. It is such a joy to see them There was this case of a four-year-old girl
standing fearlessly in front of the horses! It who was afraid of many things and that
is a common thing to see how even infants surprised everyone. She was frightened of
behave fearlessly with pet dogs! guests, of crowds, of teachers and even of her
peer-group. She was afraid to climb stairs.
Of course there are children who are afraid She was afraid of fire-crackers. Yet she was
of insects and lizards and other such small never afraid of lightning and thunder storms
entities. There are children who are afraid though severe lightning near her home
of the loud gongs of clocks. And there had actually been so disruptive as to strike
are children who are afraid of ghosts and a number of victims dead. Ostensibly, fire-
imaginary figures. Once I saw a child who crackers were made by human beings while
broke down in extreme fear after seeing a lightning is Nature’s own phenomena. One
demon in a TV advertisement and who was could clearly delineate the social dimension
canvassing that what was the owner’s pride of phobia even in a four-year-old child!
was the neighbour’s envy. In all such cases,
social conditioning plays a role in the genesis We have all our counselling techniques to
of fear. deal with such children. But something
else could be added outside the counselling
Children have a weaker constitution in com- space. Children could be exposed to nature in
parison to adults. As the Mother explained: myriad ways. This would include exposure
to trees and shrubs, flowers and butterflies,
“Why do children have fear? Because they lakes and rivers, seas and mountains, climbing
are weak. Physically they are weaker than the trees to watch nests of birds and enjoying the
grown-ups around them and, generally, they zoo! Not only would such exposure of nature
are also weaker vitally and mentally (1).” make the child secure and fearless, it would
simultaneously serve another great cause.
It is therefore not surprising that children As Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy
become victims of social conditioning too easily. Scouts movement, used to repeatedly say
So many times when mothers complained that more than going to a church or temple,
that their children always felt scared in an exposure to Nature would automatically
strange situations, I have enquired if the and spontaneously induce a reverence
parents were putting on the night-lamp for the Supreme. And that would be the
when children went to sleep. Surprisingly, main motivator to rise above phobias! It is

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