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Childhood is Too Precious to Ignore

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. ~Graham Greene, The Power and The Glory

Childhood is a short period in our lives that begins at birth and ends at puberty. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it is defined as; 1) the state or period of being a child. 2) the early period in the development of something.

Birth to puberty is not a very long time and yet it seems as though the span of childhood is diminishing right before our eyes. Has anyone else noticed that children are not allowed or encouraged to be children in today’s society?

For some reason, we spend most of our time; ‘racing to the top’, expecting children to be mini-adults, and constantly doing this thing called life, instead of living life.

As a teacher and advocate for children I am appalled when I hear people say, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

I question what is happening in our educational system when we are spending more time documenting our teaching than actually empowering and teaching our children. I wonder just how terrific technology is when I walk into a restaurant, and see every person in the family on some type of electronic device. I shudder when I notice that seven is the new nine during childhood and yet people are still saying, “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

We complain that children don’t pay attention in schools. We say that there is a terrible break down in the family, and we throw the word bully around like it’s a new catch phrase, but what are we doing to change these things? We need to do something about it. It’s not a nicety, it’s a necessity.

Looking at the current life span, you might conclude that childhood is somewhat insignificant in the whole scheme of things, because, let’s face it, it’s brief. However, the truth is, childhood is the most critical time period of our entire lives.

When are we going to wake up and realize that we are pushing the most precious time of our lives right out the door?

I started teaching fourteen years ago. I knew, even then, that I was different. I had a holistic perspective on teaching where I believed that we should embrace childhood in the midst of educating, enlightening and empowering children. I always felt that in order to be successful academically, you had to make a true connection with the children in front of you. I strongly believe that you cannot teach the mind of a child, until you touch their heart. I have spent fourteen years in the public education system teaching children to believe in themselves, speak their truth and LOVE learning.

Now, we are racing to the top and banging on the door of total catastrophe. If we thought we had a bullying issue in America before this new plan in education came down the pike, we better buckle up because when you make a child feel inadequate, you bring out their fears and anger raises its ugly head!

A few weeks ago I was putting my 7 year old to bed. We had just finished reading a story and he turned to me and said, “Mom, it’s just not fair. I don’t get it. I’m only in 1st grade and all we do is work, work, and more work. We never even get to play!” I looked into his eyes and took a deep breath. I too teach 1st grade and I try my best to keep the fun alive, but it’s getting damn hard, even for me. When my son spoke those words, I understood more deeply than he even realized that something BIG was going on here. I realized that this is another dent in childhood. I totally understood that we were trying to force our children to become human doings, instead of human beings at a very young age.

Of course! That’s exactly what’s going on because if we are human doings ourselves that’s exactly what we teach our children.

You know you’re a human doing when…

*You have lists of things to do every day
*You can’t even seem to put a thought together by the middle of the day because you’re already overloaded
*You are constantly focused on what you have to get done
*You forget simple things like brushing your teeth
*You look at the clock and realize that it’s already bedtime
*You look at your children and they are grown and you wonder where the hell the time went

Is this what we really want for ourselves? Is this what we really want for our children?

Childhood should be a time when we gain a strong foundation so that we can navigate the waters of life successfully. If we continue to diminish childhood by expecting our children to act like mini-adults and do more, more, more, we are certainly headed for disaster.

Let children be children. Children have a beautiful curiosity that is totally natural. Why not tap into that to educate them? And what is education anyways? Instead of teaching children what we want them to know or what we think they should know, maybe we should we teach them how to think for themselves and speak their own truth?

If you asked me, I would say that childhood should be extended instead of diminished. I’m really not sure why everyone wants to grow up so quickly. What exactly are we running to?

I’m going back to being a kid and I suggest if you have children, teach children or care about children, you should tap into that energy too.

Childhood is too precious to ignore. If it’s true that ‘there is always one moment in childhood that opens the door and let’s the future in,’ then let’s give the future some hope…

Teach children to believe in themselves, speak their truth, and above all BE.

Vicki Savini has been empowering children & adults through individual consultations and group workshops for over a decade. She has experience not only in the field of psychology and education, but also, in the healing arts and overall wellness. As an elementary teacher, in the public school system, she steps out of the box and teaches in a holistic, non-conventional way, to educate, enlighten, and empower her students. To learn more, please CLICK HERE