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Challenges from a young age

Agencies Published January 14, 2013
In this Nov 19, 2012 photo, eight-month-old Mohamed sleeps on the family bed as his father, Ibrahim, argues with the family of the boy's mother, Fatmata, after Ibrahim allegedly helped his new girlfriend beat up Fatmata, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Domestic violence is a problem all over West Africa. ?Photo by AP
In this Nov 19, 2012 photo, eight-month-old Mohamed sleeps on the family bed as his father, Ibrahim, argues with the family of the boy's mother, Fatmata, after Ibrahim allegedly helped his new girlfriend beat up Fatmata, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Domestic violence is a problem all over West Africa. ?Photo by AP
Children hold up signs as they join a protest in response to French military action in Mali outside the French embassy in central London. ?Photo by AFP
Children hold up signs as they join a protest in response to French military action in Mali outside the French embassy in central London. ?Photo by AFP
Afghan children search a garbage dump for useful items in Kandahar. ? Photo by AFP
Afghan children search a garbage dump for useful items in Kandahar. ? Photo by AFP
Moroccan children sit outside their homes in Anfgou in the High Atlas mountains. More than 20 tons of food and hundreds of duvets and mattresses were distributed to villagers who are facing an unusually bitter winter, causing hardship not usually associated with Morocco. ?Photo by AFP
Moroccan children sit outside their homes in Anfgou in the High Atlas mountains. More than 20 tons of food and hundreds of duvets and mattresses were distributed to villagers who are facing an unusually bitter winter, causing hardship not usually associated with Morocco. ?Photo by AFP
Children hold placards reading ?A father and a mother, nothing is better for a child? as they take part in a protest organized by the French far-right party, Front national (FN) party, against same-sex marriage in Paris. ?Photo by AFP
Children hold placards reading ?A father and a mother, nothing is better for a child? as they take part in a protest organized by the French far-right party, Front national (FN) party, against same-sex marriage in Paris. ?Photo by AFP
A woman walks with two children past a puddle of blood at a crime scene in Ciudad Juarez. ?Photo by Reuters
A woman walks with two children past a puddle of blood at a crime scene in Ciudad Juarez. ?Photo by Reuters
Children play while waiting for their parents in a slum area in Yangon. ?Photo by Reuters
Children play while waiting for their parents in a slum area in Yangon. ?Photo by Reuters
Two four-year-old twin sisters rest against a wall at a poor residential area for migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing. Chinese rural children are expected to get better care from the government including more nutritious meals, safe school buses and better accommodation facilities. Currently, China has about 58 million rural children living away from their parents. ?Photo by Reuters
Two four-year-old twin sisters rest against a wall at a poor residential area for migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing. Chinese rural children are expected to get better care from the government including more nutritious meals, safe school buses and better accommodation facilities. Currently, China has about 58 million rural children living away from their parents. ?Photo by Reuters
A teacher helps a student during art class at the Oxford International College in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. Oxford International College, with no relation to the British university, is tapping into a growing market of upwardly-mobile Chinese willing to pay as much as 260, 000 yuan ($41,700) a year for a Western-style education and a ticket to college overseas. ?Photo by Reuters
A teacher helps a student during art class at the Oxford International College in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. Oxford International College, with no relation to the British university, is tapping into a growing market of upwardly-mobile Chinese willing to pay as much as 260, 000 yuan ($41,700) a year for a Western-style education and a ticket to college overseas. ?Photo by Reuters

There are many ways to protect our children. Some educate them, some give them a banner of protest to make them take a stand, and some simply leave them out of the woes of life just to preserve their innocence.

There is nothing wrong with all these methods. But perhaps we can all try to listen to what they want and not assume what they need. More importantly, give them the attention they deserve. — Photos by Agencies / Text by Alisia Pek

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