• 12 Oct, 2025 *

Mudra, my 3-year-old daughter, mimics everything we do. She doesn’t have a phone, but she does have an iPad Mini. Giving her a phone would mean giving her access to YouTube Shorts, and that’s a line I’m not ready to cross.

I’ve been trying to inculcate the habit of reading in her. On weekends, we visit bookshops. I read stories to her, and whenever she’s bored, I ask her to pick a book from the shelf. She doesn’t know how to read yet, but she knows books have stories, and that’s a start.

Our children losing their innocence to the prying eyes of social media companies should scare the daylight out of us. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and AI-generated video slop are all designed to hijack attention. And they work frighteningly well.

I understand why parents resort to giving their kids phones. I truly do. It buys you some peace, a few quiet minutes. But that doesn’t justify it. The ill effects of being excessively online are well documented.

So how do we encourage our kids to play outside, to be social in the real world, to build something tangible?

In a nuclear family setup, that responsibility falls squarely on the two parents, with no ready help available. The time we get with parents or in-laws helps, but it often comes at a personal cost.

Every day, the news carries stories of young children being sexually exploited, sometimes by men who live nearby. How do we make sure our children are safe? Who do we really trust?

And then there’s the economics of it all. Kids in this economy? Once you see the school fees, you’ll understand why that statement carries so much weight.

You can coast as a “bad parent,” letting your child grow up surrounded by gadgets, or you can be a “concerned parent,” one who spends every waking hour worrying about how to raise a child natively, in a way that feels real and grounded.

How do you instill integrity, honesty, and good values? I keep asking myself that.

I’ve often said that the highs of parenting outweigh the lows, and maybe that’s true. But I’m no longer sure that’s enough of an argument in favor of having kids.

There are screen-free gadgets out there that make sense once the child starts asking questions.

Mudra often asks, “What should I do?” when she’s bored. And honestly, I don’t want “the iPad” to be the answer every time. This right here is the struggle.