Out of the mouths of babes

I read Lisa Pemberton’s column “Busy Mama” in “The Olympian” on Sunday.  I always read her column even though it often has nothing to do with my life.   I read it because she’s a good writer and tells a good story.   But yesterday – her story struck me right between the eyes.

If you want to know why kids have a different view of the world – – read her column.  It gave me a good perspective into this current generation of young people.

In the telling she says that the family has a toy train set which runs through their miniature Christmas village.  One morning the train was derailed and overturned.  She thinks perhaps it was the tail of her black lab which might have done it.  But it was the reaction of her eight-year old son which caught her attention – – and mine.

“Maybe it was terrorism” Lisa quotes him of saying.   Then her son got his military action figures to go looking for the bad guys.

What an observation?

Any child under 18 years of age has lived with the idea of terrorism their entire life.   It has surrounded them and consumed their parents – –  in an effort to protect them.   The threat of terrorism continues to play a role in their lives.  We have raised a generation of children who thinks that terrorism is a normal part of their life.

Lisa also points out that the Great Recession of 2008 has also had a great impact on children.   Perhaps one or more of their parents has lost a job.   Perhaps they lost their house.   Perhaps the financial uncertainty has caused a split in family dynamics.  All of that impacts children.

Children are shaped by their surroundings.   The threat of terrorism and the financial uncertainty has shaped this generation of children as much as the cold war and the Vietnam war shaped us.   Thanks to Lisa Pemberton for bringing the realization so firmly to our mind.