Sai Durgha Tej calls for stronger parent–child bonds at Abhayam Masoom Summit

At the Abhayam Masoom Summit 2025, Sai Durgha Tej highlighted child safety, urging parents to build open communication, monitor social media use, spend quality time, and ensure education with collective responsibility.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad witnessed an important conversation on child safety at the Abhayam Masoom Summit 2025, organised by Young Indians (Yi), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The summit, held in association with Bharat Rising, brought together leaders and professionals from across 70 cities worldwide to highlight the fight against child sexual abuse.

Actor Sai Durgha Tej, who addressed the gathering on the theme “Every Child Matters in a Digital World: The Collective Responsibility to Keep Children Safe Online and Offline”, stressed the importance of creating safe spaces for children both at home and online.

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“Children must be given the freedom to share everything with their parents,” he said, recalling his own bond with his mother. “In second grade, I even shared my first love story with her. That openness is what every parent should encourage.”

Tej expressed concern over the way social media is affecting children, noting that online abuse is often normalised as “dark comedy.” “Freedom of speech should never come at the cost of hurting others,” he said. He urged parents to remain vigilant, suggesting that children’s social media accounts be linked to parents’ phone numbers or Aadhaar cards to enforce accountability.

The actor also underlined the need for families to reconnect offline. “At least once a week, families should sit together, talk, and bond. Parents must spend more time with their children and guide them with love. Lessons like good touch and bad touch should be taught both at school and home,” he emphasised.

Tej, who has worked with NGOs in the past and helped build a school in Araku, reiterated that every child deserves access to quality education. He also shared that he consciously stopped performing songs that promote teasing after his film Winner, saying, “If we truly love someone, we should appreciate them, not ridicule them.”

The summit also saw participation from Minister Seethakka, Yi Co-Chairman Bhavin Pandya, National Chairman Tarang Khurana, CII Telangana Chairman Siva Prasad Reddy, and Jyotsna Singh. Together, they reinforced the need for collective responsibility in ensuring children’s safety, both online and offline.