Children do learn what they live. Then they grow up to live what they’ve learned.
– Dorothy Nolte
It was late at night as we rode in a Grab back to the hotel. My daughter, already half asleep, suddenly murmured that she missed me. Then came a sentence that caught me off guard.
She said she didn’t want me to grow old. She didn’t want me to become a grandma. She wanted to stay my baby forever.
For a five-year-old, these were unexpectedly big thoughts — thoughts about time, ageing, and permanence. Moments later, she drifted back into dreamland, leaving me wide awake with questions of my own.
I turned to my husband and said, almost instinctively, “Kids today grow up so fast.”
When we were five, life was wonderfully uncomplicated. Our worlds revolved around toys, books, and play. I remember afternoons spent with Barbie dolls and Enid Blyton stories, blissfully unaware of adulthood, responsibilities, or the passing of time. Growing up wasn’t something we thought about and it simply happened.
But childhood today looks very different.
This isn’t just a personal observation. It’s something I hear repeatedly from friends and fellow parents. Children seem more aware, more articulate, and more emotionally expressive at younger ages. And while that can be admirable, it also makes one wonder: what is pushing them to grow up so quickly?
The answer may lie not in what they eat or how they are raised, but in what they watch.
Communication today is everywhere. It is not just in conversations at home or lessons in school, but through screens that quietly accompany children throughout their day. Television, tablets, and mobile phones have become powerful storytellers, shaping young minds in ways we are only beginning to fully understand.
When we were young, our screen time was limited and simple. Shows like Barney & Friends, Teletubbies, and Doraemon focused on songs, friendship, and basic learning. They entertained without rushing us into the realities of adult life.
Today’s children, however, are exposed to far more layered narratives. Programmes such as Cocomelon, Bluey, Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol, and Baby Shark don’t just amuse, but they communicate ideas about family structures, responsibilities, and social roles. For instance, in Peppa Pig, children learn about pregnancy, siblings, grandparents, and everyday family dynamics. These are life lessons, delivered in bright colours and cheerful voices.
And therein lies the shift.
Videos are no longer mere entertainment. They are a dominant form of communication, and communication shapes understanding. What children see becomes what they absorb. And what they absorb becomes how they think.
In a world saturated with visual content, children are learning about life earlier, and sometimes before they are emotionally ready to process it. They are introduced to concepts of ageing, change, and responsibility long before we ever were. The result? Childhood feels shorter, faster, and more aware.
This isn’t to say modern children’s content is harmful. Many programmes promote empathy, cooperation, and resilience. They reflect a more connected, informed world. But we must recognise their influence. Screens don’t just fill time but they fill minds too.
As adults, we often talk about how digital communication has changed us: it has shortened attention spans, altered conversations, and reshaped relationships. But for children, the impact is even more profound. They are growing up in a world where communication is constant and immediate, where innocence quietly gives way to awareness.
Perhaps the real question isn’t whether children are growing up too fast, but whether we are paying close enough attention to what is guiding that growth.
And today, we are just merely talking about how communication shapes them. There are other factors, like their communication with friends at schools, and the places they visit during holidays, which have somehow contributed to accelerating their understanding.
Essentially, in today’s world, communication isn’t something we occasionally engage with. It surrounds us. It teaches us. And for our children, what they watch and see is very often what they learn about life.
Do you agree?
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at Shirley.suat@gmail.com.
