I love the news. I listen to the news on the radio in the morning, and on the drive home at night when one of the local radio stations play one of the local television news programs. I used to love my newspaper, until the rising price of the paper, coupled with the poor quality of the writing and the shrinking content caused me to cancel my subscription. In place of the newspaper, I read the headlines and news articles when I boot up my computer in the morning. Not all of the articles are what I would consider news, since there is a great deal about people who are supposed to be celebrities but I have no idea who they are, but there is still a fair amount of news.
I have been known to yell, cheer, and even sob during a newscast. Recently, however, there have been several news stories that have made me want to bang my head against the wall. The first was one about a young child who lives in a southern state. This child, who had just turned five, took his 22 rifle, which he had received as a gift and which was sitting in a corner of the dining room, outdoors to play. Neither of his parents had thought that there was a bullet left in the rifle after the last time that he had been shooting it. There was one, however, and the child shot and killed his two year old sister. This story is wrong on so many levels - why would anyone make a rifle for young children? They are smaller than an adult rifle, and come in bright colors, but these are working rifles. Why would it be stored in the dining room? Why would an adult just assume that the rifle had no bullets? Why would a child be allowed to think of a rifle as a toy? This is not a debate about gun laws and citizens rights - it is a question about the appropriateness of a young child having an adult weapon as a toy.
Several days later there was an article about a group of parents who were taking action against a school because the dress code stated that the students could not wear strapless dresses to their eighth grade prom. Seriously? Once again, this is so wrong on so many levels - a prom has always been a special rite of passage for older teens as they near the end of high school. Why would eighth graders have a prom? Could they not just have a picnic, or a dress-up dance? Why would these girls have the evening ruined if they could not wear a strapless dress? Why are the parents not concentrating their energies on improving the school programs? Are these the same parents who brought their four year daughters thongs and padded bras because they were "cute".
Often when I am in store I hear a mother yelling at a five year old because the little brother or sister has disappeared and the older child was supposed to "keep an eye on him/her". How could a five year old possibly have the maturity to keep track of a younger sibling. Recently I read a number of comments on a blog from mothers who were congratulating themselves on teaching their two year old children sight words so that they would not be left behind in school. Along with the self-congratulations were comments about the "laziness" of mothers who did not do so.
All of these stories have one thing in common - they are about adults who have no idea what is developmentally appropriate for children. Because a child can hit a target with a bullet when he is with his father does not mean that he will have the judgement to handle the gun wisely when he is by himself. A special event like a prom, along with adult clothing is something to look forward to. If the child does everything early, where is the anticipation of the big event. Many of the prom dresses that high school seniors wear are very revealing - do our twelve and thirteen year old girls need to dress like an adult to have a good time? Five year old children have trouble with basic safety judgments at times - how can they care for a younger child? Sight words are not an appropriate way for a very young child to start to learn about reading, and being forced to learn them at that age may even retard development of reading skills.
Why do so many people seem to be in such a hurry to have their children take on tasks that are beyond their developmental level? Is it, in some cases, a reluctance to tell their children "no"? Is it that parents feel that they will be successful if their children do things before the other children? Is it because people in this country do not value childhood for its own sake?
Perhaps many parents do not realize that each child has developmental milestones that have to be reached before they can move to the next level. Perhaps they do not realize that forcing a child to do things before he is developmentally ready is harmful to the child. Perhaps each student in this country should have to take a course in child development as a graduation requirement. (Let's face it - child development would be much more helpful than earth science.)
Please - let the children be children. They are young for such a short period of time. Enjoy that time, treasure that time, and do not force them out of childhood too soon because once their childhood is gone, it is gone forever.
I have been known to yell, cheer, and even sob during a newscast. Recently, however, there have been several news stories that have made me want to bang my head against the wall. The first was one about a young child who lives in a southern state. This child, who had just turned five, took his 22 rifle, which he had received as a gift and which was sitting in a corner of the dining room, outdoors to play. Neither of his parents had thought that there was a bullet left in the rifle after the last time that he had been shooting it. There was one, however, and the child shot and killed his two year old sister. This story is wrong on so many levels - why would anyone make a rifle for young children? They are smaller than an adult rifle, and come in bright colors, but these are working rifles. Why would it be stored in the dining room? Why would an adult just assume that the rifle had no bullets? Why would a child be allowed to think of a rifle as a toy? This is not a debate about gun laws and citizens rights - it is a question about the appropriateness of a young child having an adult weapon as a toy.
Several days later there was an article about a group of parents who were taking action against a school because the dress code stated that the students could not wear strapless dresses to their eighth grade prom. Seriously? Once again, this is so wrong on so many levels - a prom has always been a special rite of passage for older teens as they near the end of high school. Why would eighth graders have a prom? Could they not just have a picnic, or a dress-up dance? Why would these girls have the evening ruined if they could not wear a strapless dress? Why are the parents not concentrating their energies on improving the school programs? Are these the same parents who brought their four year daughters thongs and padded bras because they were "cute".
Often when I am in store I hear a mother yelling at a five year old because the little brother or sister has disappeared and the older child was supposed to "keep an eye on him/her". How could a five year old possibly have the maturity to keep track of a younger sibling. Recently I read a number of comments on a blog from mothers who were congratulating themselves on teaching their two year old children sight words so that they would not be left behind in school. Along with the self-congratulations were comments about the "laziness" of mothers who did not do so.
All of these stories have one thing in common - they are about adults who have no idea what is developmentally appropriate for children. Because a child can hit a target with a bullet when he is with his father does not mean that he will have the judgement to handle the gun wisely when he is by himself. A special event like a prom, along with adult clothing is something to look forward to. If the child does everything early, where is the anticipation of the big event. Many of the prom dresses that high school seniors wear are very revealing - do our twelve and thirteen year old girls need to dress like an adult to have a good time? Five year old children have trouble with basic safety judgments at times - how can they care for a younger child? Sight words are not an appropriate way for a very young child to start to learn about reading, and being forced to learn them at that age may even retard development of reading skills.
Why do so many people seem to be in such a hurry to have their children take on tasks that are beyond their developmental level? Is it, in some cases, a reluctance to tell their children "no"? Is it that parents feel that they will be successful if their children do things before the other children? Is it because people in this country do not value childhood for its own sake?
Perhaps many parents do not realize that each child has developmental milestones that have to be reached before they can move to the next level. Perhaps they do not realize that forcing a child to do things before he is developmentally ready is harmful to the child. Perhaps each student in this country should have to take a course in child development as a graduation requirement. (Let's face it - child development would be much more helpful than earth science.)
Please - let the children be children. They are young for such a short period of time. Enjoy that time, treasure that time, and do not force them out of childhood too soon because once their childhood is gone, it is gone forever.
