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Let Children Be Children
6:57 AM, Oct. 18, 2007
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Lately, I have been thinking about how things have changed since I was a little girl. I am not THAT old, but some would probably say I'm "old-fashioned" and "over the hill". It seems to me that our culture is robbing children of their childhood these days--pushing them along to the next stage way before they are ready either emotionally or physically. Young children are away from their moms at younger and younger ages and in Day Care (my mom didn't go to work till I was in school), Children are exposed and experience profanity, drugs, sex and alcohol at younger and younger ages. (I hadn't even heard the f-word until junior high and I grew up in a secular home with non-believing parents and even THEN it was considered the most obscene word one could ever use!) Now, it is common place vocabulary in many circles even as young as elementary school! We pack children's schedules so full of activities from the time they are toddlers till they graduate from high school under the guise of "child development". They have to be enrolled in every sport, every activity and carted from one activity to the next almost daily. Households fall apart and homes are not homes anymore, just a place to sleep. Parents have given up the responsibility of parenting to the day dares and schools, and children are not taught right from wrong. (And just as an aside, if our elected officials truly want to "help" the children, they would purpose ways to enable more moms to stay at home and care for their own children, especially during the infant and pre-school years. Why should parents from a two-income family get a tax credit for day care, while my husband and I try to make ends meet on one income and help pay to raise someone else's child through higher taxes? ) Somebody please tell me the logic of that! And whatever happened to just letting children, be children? They don't need to KNOW about all the trash that is going on in the world at such young ages. We don't give children enough time to frolic in the sunshine and play in the woods. Let them work and help with chores around the house and learn that they play an important role in helping the household to function. Let them also learn how to be still and not always having to bounce from one activity to the next. Let them learn that they don't have to have the latest new video game or expensive jeans. We've lost sight of what's really important. I am not against sports or other activities for children for they have a place and can serve a useful purpose. But somewhere there has to be a balance, and I believe that our culture has crossed the line way to the other side--not allowing children enough time to explore and just be a child, and enjoy each new stage of development from birth onward, instead we push them ahead to the next stage way too early. Enjoy your child today. And let him enjoy being a child. Leave a Comment { Last Page } { Page 3 of 32 } { Next Page } |
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