Protecting Our Children’s Innocence
Nothing is as beautiful as the dancing light in the eyes of young school children as they explore new knowledge and adventure and share their experiences with you. The innocence of youth allows our children to learn and grow in healthy ways without fear and without prejudice.
But our world today too often steals the innocence of our children. The sudden onslaught of war or a broken home life changes the environment for a child quickly. When children are faced with performing tough adult tasks for daily survival; their innocence wanes and the light in their eyes fades away.
Life is tough. Our culture can be cruel. The images on television, advertisement and the internet bombard kids with pictures of adult gratification and violence, thus zapping their time of purity. The quest for material possessions, success, fame, beauty, stardom becomes a godlike goal for too many of our kids. The stealing of our children’s innocence should be a battle cry for each of us who cherish safe and nurturing environments for our children.
Each of us should double our efforts to make sure that our own children, grandchildren and neighbors have safe harbors to come home to. We should attempt to make our community schools and institutions places that don’t accelerate adulthood onto children too quickly. Kids need to be kids and learn and grow in rich environments of love, acceptance and tolerance. Kids also need boundaries and discipline, learning how to delay gratification.
We can also protect the innocence of our children by knowing how to push our kids along without zapping the fun out of learning and living. A worldwide survey of kids asked kids at what grade did you stop having fun learning in the classroom. The survey results showed that even before high school that learning was no longer fun for most kids and school was now perceived as a place for rote work. When learning isn’t fun for kids anymore then innocence is being lost.
We can protect and reclaim lost innocence if we all try. Let’s work at it. Let’s love and nurture and protect our children. Kids are our most precious resource and how well we do at this job may determine our planet’s future survival. Innocence of children is the very cocoon that they need to turn into successful and beautiful adults.