Let children be children.
OCTOBER 16, 2007 (TUESDAY) – I recently read a news article about an 8-year-old in Georgetown, Texas, who has caught the attention of computer and software companies because of his ability to design circuitry for the inner workings of digital equipment. He got his first computer for his 2nd birthday and now does testing for a California company. At age 4 he could do more on his computer than many adults. At 7, he began programming circuits.
“I guess you could say I like to figure out how stuff works,” the boy said.
I guess you could say that.
I have friends in their fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties who will not come near computers of any kind if they can help it. This 8-year-old child is helping to design the infernal contraptions.
A retired college professor is suggesting to the boy’s family that they allow him to take college courses in subjects related to his abilities. The parents have refused, because they want their little boy to remain a child as long as possible.
When Wanda and I took a trip to the Northeast to see the fall foliage in 1997, we stayed in a hotel that was host to some kind of contest for little girls. Almost every room was occupied by several adults and a child. The little girls wore grown up clothes and make up on their little faces. The competition was onstage and they performed dances and songs.
There’s something about that, that seems “not right.”
So, maybe the parents of the little computer genius have the right idea, to let children be children.
I can think of many applications of this principle in families today, but I’m sure a lot of things come to your mind as well. I have to keep reminding myself not to become a cynical old grouch. But I see things in today’s world that ostensibly are for kids when they are actually for the adults in their lives. The kids are sort of like pawns in the process. That’s all I’m going to say about that. I offer no advice; I’m just thinking out loud.