My Child Advocate Rant

We have programs for saving the earth, saving the whales, saving the gorillas, saving the Rain Forests, and saving some exotic plant in Antarctica no one has ever heard of. Animals and plants, that probably could care less, have all these rights attributed to them. Animals also have PETA to protect and speak for them; give them a voice for things they have no idea about. Children, on the other hand, have no rights at all and no one willing to fight for them. Children in America have voices and they know exactly what they want, but no one is fighting for them and no one is listening to them.

Babies do not speak, yet they are able to tell their parents exactly what they want. Change me, feed me, hold me, or let me sleep are all examples of things babies want and they are able to express it with tears. Parents listen to those cries and give their child what they want, because as parents it is their job to meet their babies needs. As the child grows up, they learn words and start asking for things in a language we can all understand. The point here is that even as babies, kids know what they want. Why is it so easy to understand a baby who can’t speak, and not understand a child who speaks clearly? It seems a broken system when the more a child speaks; the less likely we are to listen. Kids know what they want for the most part, of course they don’t get everything they want, but giving your child the best childhood they deserve should be top priority.

Child are the future, they are the ones who will be in charge when we are older. Everyone likes to blame the decay of the nation on disrespectful teenagers, but the reality is how we treat our children today dictates how they will act in the future. If you do not show a child respect, how can you expect them to know what that even means? If you do not listen to your child, how will they learn to speak their mind instead of acting out? Acting out happens when there is a huge breakdown in communication; it is forcing the parent to listen when nothing else works.
We live in a society where children are viewed as property. We all whine and complain about racism, sexism, and every other –ism there is, but the only people without real rights are children. They have a voice, they can always be counted to tell things like they are. If all these things are true, why is it that when they voice an opinion about the real issues we suddenly shut them down? I know plenty of children who can tell you exactly what they want and why they want it, in most cases stating their thoughts in better terms than adults.

The point of this whole blog is for me to air my grievance with society and certain so called “parents.” Listen to your children, listen to what they want, and do your job by doing everything in your power to give them happiness. Sometimes, you will have to sacrifice your own happiness for your children, but that’s what it means to be a parent. For all the kids out there fighting to be heard, speak loud and speak often, never give up, and never let them take away your spirit.