“National governments should devote more of their social programs and services to children than to adults.”

Children and adults are both important constituents of a society. A society can progress only if both its children and adults are given due importance. However, as the children are the future of a nation, it will be beneficial to devote more social programs and services for the betterment of children. There is a requirement of striking a balance between the attention being given to adults and to the children. It will be in the interest of the nation if more policies and programs are designed for children as compared to those for adults.

Children represent the future of a country. A nation progresses ahead only if its coming generations are capable of handling the responsibilities in a way that is far better than what was being done in the past. A nation can make its coming generations skilled enough to handle the responsibilities efficiently only if it pays adequate attention to the children when they are in the process of growing up. Good habits and healthy lifestyles can be inculcated in children very early in life. All parents are keen on giving the best to their children. The government’s attempt to provide assistance to the parents in bringing up their children, in the best possible manner, will be widely accepted across the nation.

For instance, the government plans to educate its citizens about the hazards of environmental pollution. It would be a much better option to run such an educational program in schools and colleges rather than conducting it for adults. The reason being that adults would already be busy their jobs and careers and they would not be interested in wasting their time in attending such programs. Even if they do attend such a program, it is unlikely that they will adopt the kind of lifestyle required to keep the environment pollution free. The reason for this is that they are already settled in life and they have a set of routines to be followed daily. They may not like to change all that despite the efforts of the government. On the other hand, if the aim of the social program is to educate and train the children, then there is a high probability that the government will succeed in achieving its aim. The young minds of children readily absorb whatever information is being provided. Hence, the citizens of a country can be better aware of their social responsibilities, provided they are educated about these responsibilities early in life.

If one digs out the past of well-known criminals and other people who have been dangerous to the society, it would be seen that they have had a tumultuous childhood with little or no attention being given to groom them in the right direction. Therefore, it is necessary to spend time and effort in training the children of today to grow into responsible adults of tomorrow. However, this does not mean that the government should completely ignore adults when it comes to providing services and social programs for its citizens. It is necessary to provide such services and programs for adults, for the well-being of the entire nation as the nation is being run by the adults only. Adults are the mainstay of a nation and they also need to be looked after by the government when it comes to providing educational, medical and job-oriented facilities. Therefore, out of all the social programs and services being worked out by the government, there can be a small share that goes in the interest of adults and the rest should be aimed at providing services to the children of today.

We have all heard the saying, ‘A stitch in time saves nine.’ This holds true in the case of children who are responsible for shaping the future of a nation. Hence, the statement that national governments should devote more of their social programs and services to children than to adults is rightly justified.