Let Kids Be Kids

It’s an interesting paradox – we encourage children to dress and look older than they are, yet at the same time we baby our children, often supporting them financially and emotionally until their mid-twenties. So while we want them to look older and have the cool things older people have, we don’t want them to be independent.

We have 7 and 8 year olds with cell phones -- where are they going that is so unsupervised that they need a phone? We have young girls’ clothing that imitates what a supermodel would wear. Kids are dating at younger and younger ages. Kids are joining competitive sports leagues in the 2nd grade, and are told that they must practice year round to stay on the team. We have gifted programs for preschoolers that drill facts into their little heads.

There is such a short time in life to be free of the pressure of performing, of achieving, of winning. Let’s let kids be kids for that brief time.

I still remember when my son’s Kindergarten teacher told me that he was really having a hard time. I asked her what areas he was struggling with and she said that he didn’t color within the lines and he didn’t choose the normal colors for animals and objects. Silly me, I didn’t think either of those things were important, and had actually encouraged him to use his imagination when coloring!!