Children Should Rule The World

I had a really interesting conversation on Twitter a while ago over the 'NoMorePage3' petition and the difficulty in explaining to children why there are bare boobs in a 'family' newspaper.  This expanded into how we dealt with some of the wonderful questions kids come out with.  How do you make babies?  Why is that man wearing a dress?  What's wrong with that person in a wheelchair?  (Usually all asked high volume in a crowded place just to make it more fun!)  We concluded that telling our respective children about issues that come up in the news etc can sometimes be complicated because of having to avoid jargon/confusing language but ultimately worth it for two reasons. 1) Kids will ask questions.  They have a thirst for knowledge and want to understand the world around them.  It is our duty to make that easier and less scary for them to deal with.  2) Children have such a wonderful unblinkered view of the world.  They are like little sponges that soak up information and experiences without the prejudices that we as adults carry with us.

I was planning this post for a few days before the news broke about the death of teacher Lucy Meadows.  Reading the shocking media coverage of her transition, and how a few parents reacted, affirmed my belief that a world government of under 10's would ultimately make the world a much happier place.

One parent complained that rather than Mr Upton returning to school as Miss Meadows after the Christmas break, she should have slunk off, had her gender reassignment and returned to work at a different school because it was too difficult to explain to children of that age.  Apparently one child was worried he would wake up with 'girls brains' as that is how Ms Meadows had explained she felt as though she had been born, they had just been put inside a male body.  So far, I see nothing complicated to explain.  Just because some people become aware at some point in their lives that they were born in the wrong body doesn't mean everyone will.  Lucy Meadows was only guilty of trying to correct a cruel trick by nature - or God, seeing as it was a CofE school.  Explain it in simple terms like that and chances are a child will accept it as the way it is.  No drama.  It's us that adds the drama.  The real complications come about because of adults own prejudices and/or ignorance of the situation and this affecting their inability to explain as they try to incorporate reasons for those prejudices.  Suddenly 2+2=4 becomes 2+5x3.14-10 etc etc = 5 (if you're lucky). 

Whilst watching news coverage of the Marriage Equality debate, my daughter asked 'why are those men shouting at each other'.  I explained that these were the people in charge of running the country and they were talking about whether men/men and women/women should be allowed to get married.  This did confuse her.  Purely because she couldn't understand why they weren't already allowed!  Ok, she's still at an age where she wants to marry her dad and we have talked about why that won't ever be allowed, but the reason she wants to marry her dad is because she loves him.  As far as she is concerned, that is what it is all about at the end of the day.  Two grown ups who love each other.  A tweet recently by a mum of a young child said that her daughter had commented that if she were in charge she would make rich people pay more money to help look after the poor people.  Are you listening government?  Kids get it.  Everything is so black and white for them.  It either is or it isn't.  This is usually a stand point I hate in adults (usually because they will benefit in some way from ignoring the grey area) but from children, you know that it is coming from a place of innocence and a want for the world to work and people to get along and be happy.

Just think about your aspirations as a 10 year old.  You want to play with your friends, feel safe and happy.  Nothing feels impossible.  Wouldn't it be nice if we could carry that on into adulthood and in turn provide a nurturing, safe environment for everyone?