PLAK: An Interactive Teaching Aid to Help Establish Concepts of Boundaries and Respect.

Abstract

In a Pakistani society, children and adolescents grow without any definite knowledge about themselves or the people around them. Due to this, they fail to recognise their needs and lack empathy towards others. To overcome this, a mindset of conditioning has to come into action for children of younger years, to help them understand complexities in a better manner, without having to criticise or resist them. The youth faces abuse of all kinds as they grow up and fail to confide or to find the right words to address the issue. The lack of boundaries and respect for themselves and others around them results in a childhood exposed to risk. The aim is to provide a platform for children to be informed physically and emotionally about themselves; to explain their role and duty towards each other, their responsibility towards their families and towards society as a whole. The current mentality not only breeds mindsets with unhealthy expectations due to lack of awareness and half knowledge, but the lack of formal education in this area leaves young lives with discomfort, confusion, and worst of all, danger. To create this mindset of conditioning, which recognises boundaries and respect for oneself and others, a child has to have conversations in a manner that influences their thoughts and perspectives as a result. PLAK is a teaching aid which consists of basic magnetic forms that would unleash a child's imagination, removing any barriers that would limit the conversations at play. While acting out scenarios in a safe zone, the child can easily address situations and emotions; A simple solution in a world of complexities.