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As in most places around the world, children in Bangladesh, particularly those living in urban environments, are exposed to the influence of a consumerist culture (LS Special, 2017). A 2015 study in Dhaka states: “global media have large-scale impact on the audiences who are exposed to them… urban youth culture in Bangladesh is no longer identical to [the] long-standing traditional patterns but is found to be melting into western norms of dress-codes, food habits, attitude, and life styles” (Hossin, 2015, p. 213). The rigorously increasing urbanization and globalization also leave children to the risk of physically inactivity leading to health and mental problems. Education emphasises the development of skills suitable for a market economy with limited importance given to moral and spiritual values (Pereira, 2016).
Moral degradation of a generation in a country does not happen overnight. The presence of a harmful agent or absence of a beneficial catalyst in the daily life accelerates this decline. In today’s world, there seems to be an invisible war between humankind and the planet Earth. As “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children” – a popular saying with uncertain origin (Quote Investigator, 2014), today’s scientists are seeking to discover better environmentally friendlier technologies, economists are developing alternative economic practices or activities to alleviate poverty and ensure economic well-being, sociologists are working on reducing social inequality, environmentalists are researching what changes can potentially help us reduce our environmental footprints and restore the health of the planet. Are these efforts likely to change the course of human civilisation and leave a sustainable earth for the generations to come? Do we need to wait for all these new discoveries or can we use the knowledge and wisdom we already have available through folklore?