Children today have been cheated. They’ve been cheated out of the happy, carefree childhood that most of us have enjoyed. They have lived every day of their lives with the threat of disaster hanging over their heads. While it’s true that we had “drills”, getting under our desks, we really didn’t understand why we were doing it. There weren’t “doomsday” movies or predictions of the end of the world flashing across the TV each night. People weren’t broadcasting “end of the world” dates and scenarios for us to see or hear. We were able to play, laugh and sleep at night thinking we were safe and that good always triumphed over evil.
The horror of 9-11 helped shatter that feeling of safety and security for us all, but especially for our children. The ever growing numbers of TV shows about disasters, Zombies, Nuclear War , video games and computer sites with frightening scenarios fill their young minds and hearts with fear, even if they don’t realize it.
My daughter leaves the room anytime I talk about Nostradamus, the Mayan Calendar or the predictions of Medjugoria. She refuses to watch shows on global warming, nuclear war, or end of the world predictions. She admits she’s disturbed by these stories and sometimes has trouble sleeping at night just thinking about them. She dreads the coming of December 21, 2012, the supposed end of the world on the Mayan calendar. I’ve explained to her that it is NOT the end, but the beginning of a new cycle.
"It's the time when the largest grand cycle in the Mayan calendar—1,872,000 days or 5,125.37 years—overturns and a new cycle begins," said Anthony Aveni, a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.
I’ve also tried to explain the supposed end of time due to a shift in the poles of Earth.
Maloof says magnetic evidence in rocks confirm that continents have undergone such drastic rearrangement, but the process took millions of years—slow enough that humanity wouldn't have felt the motion (quick guide to plate tectonics
No matter how I explain these disaster myths, such as the Planed X collision with Earth, or the asteroid that will destroy us, she sees these reports on TV and reads about it in the newspapers and is sure that the end is near.
I believe we need to restore the innocence of childhood to our kids. They need to feel that Mommy and Daddy can protect them from anything, that there are heroes to save them, and that they have a bright and shining future, just as we were allowed to believe.
I know we live in a violent and dangerous world. There are bad people, bad governments and bad things happening to good people, but do we have to share all that with our children at such a young age? Can’t we shelter them a bit and allow them to enjoy the magic of childhood; You can grow up to be whatever you wan; Everything has a happy ending! These are the things we were told and it allowed us to dream , reach for the stars, and become the best people we could be. Don’t our children deserve this same chance?
To those who say, “I don’t want my child living under the delusions of fairy tales”, I say- they will have to grow up soon enough. Let them live the dream while they can. Bring them to see Santa, tell them about the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Leprechauns on St. Patty’s Day, the Angels that protect them and the little birds that fly to Mommy and tell her what they’ve been doing!
DON’T let your children play violent video games, watch movies beyond their years and understanding, or watch TV shows that are for adults. BE A PARENT - protect and shelter them, even if it’s not the popular thing to do. When they are adults, they will look back and appreciate the gift you gave them.
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| Sweet Dreams! |
In light of the recent allegations that former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky victimized eight young boys for more than a decade while university officials turned a blind eye it's hard not to see the need of warning young children that the world is a dangerous place and that mom and dad cannot protect them from everything. They can believe in Santa and fairy tales, but they need to be armed with hard knowledge. Shelter when you can, but also give them age-appropriate warnings of the dangers out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need to give them age appropriate warnings and training, but I totally believe they are exposed to too much. Kids have become desensitized to blood, gore and violence. They think everyone has sex with several partners and it's OK. They see WAY too much on TV and Movies. I agree Marion, let's bring childhood back for our kids!
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that now is safer than at any time before. The horrible things that the yellow news media vomit out are sensational tabloid articles and should be ignored for the most part. Even as a New Yorker where my chance of being involved in some sort of terrorist foolishness is higher, it is still on par with winning the lottery as far as odds go. The way I see it parents are more over protective now and that's the real issue, so when a kid is out on their own they don't know what to do. From when I was 11 on, I was a latch key kid and could go out in my neighborhood and play with my friends completely unsupervised by adults. No "play dates" just play. I know it's hard not to keep an eagle eye on your child, but try to let them think they are independent. I know one set of parents that won't even let their child be on their own for a supervised play date at other parents homes. So give your kids some independence and send them out to play!
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