I have spent almost twenty years as a family physician watching Pakistani children grow up. Or, in many cases, watching adults enthusiastically get in the way of that process. It begins at birth. A moment that should be calm and careful quickly turns into a festival. Prelacteal feeds are given with confidence. Newborns are kissed generously and passed from lap to lap, because, apparently, infection control is optional on day one. Tradition is celebrated, science is politely ignored, and then we wonder why the baby falls sick.

As children grow, our approach becomes even more creative. We speak to them in deliberately broken language, as if clear speech is dangerous. Words are jumbled,........

© Pakistan Observer