Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/defending-childhood/5013735/
Despite all the talk about putting children first, our society is becoming increasingly hostile to its young. How different our schools, homes, and child care centers would be if parents and educators would defend children's right to a childhood, instead of fixating on their progress and success.The pressure to excel is undermining childhood as never before. Naturally, parents have always wanted their offspring to "do well," both academically and socially. No one wants their child to be the slowest in the class or the last to be picked for a game on the field. But what is it about the culture we live in that has made that natural worry into such an obsessive fear, and what is it doing to our children?
Why are we so keen to mold them into successful adults, instead of treasuring their genuineness and carefree innocence? As my friend and fellow children's advocate Jonathan Kozol said in a recent interview: "It's almost as though we view those qualities as useless, as though we don't value children for their gentleness, but only as future economic units, as future workers, as future assets and deficits."
Of all the ways in which we push children to meet adult expectations, ...