When I was a kid...

We have heard "when I was a kid" from our grandparents, our parents, our aunts and uncles, and apparently life was different back then. Apparently everyone was shoe-less, because they all walked to school and back without shoes and in the snow. So they also had super feet that did not freeze off.

Life changes from decade to decade. Tales change in the family. Lives die off while others are born. Life revolves and people seem to stand still. There was a time we could leave our doors unlocked and not worry about our property. There was a time when we felt safe, but to so many people, that time has gone.

We tell our kids "there was a time..." We didn't have super feet or anything like that, but we had good neighbors. We had people who we knew and trusted. Today people barely know who is on their streets. "When I was a kid" has a whole new meaning.

When I was a kid... I played outside. I slid down hills of snow. I lived in a house where I could see my neighbors, but it took forever to walk over to them. When I was a kid I could walk to the corner store (before moving to the country) and I could buy Charlie's Angels cards with my allowance. I could buy wax lips, cigarette candies, and so on. When I was a kid my mom pointed me in the direction of school and off I went. She knew I would get there safe. When I was a kid we went to the movies alone and felt safe.

We now rarely let out kids out alone because lord knows what could happen. Someone could take them. They could be bullied or hurt or about anything else. They could fall in with the wrong crowd. So much has changed in the world and not for the better. Yes we have shoes, yes we can now drive to school and back, but in the progress that we have made in the world, we have lost our feeling of being safe.

On top of sending our kids into the real world, the virtual world is just as scary. The virtual world did not exist when grandparents were hiking to school without shoes, six miles both ways. We not have cyber bullying and people stealing our kids pictures and so on and so forth. We have to protect them in the virtual world and the real world. One world to protect them in wasn't enough?

So what can we do as parents? We do everything we can from monitoring them online and off. Keeping them safe from the dangers of abductions, abuse, and everything else. We watch them like hawks. We watch their behaviors for changes. Their eyes for lies. We have to be diligent and protect them with every ounce of our selves. Yes life is changing. Yes the world is changing. We need to protect our kids, but we also need to let them grow. Teach them kindness. Teach them they can be the rock that starts the ripples and starts change. Even a six year old has thoughts, ideas, and wants to be part of the larger world around them. They can help with change.

Once there was a time, when I was young...    Let's let our kids finish that sentences with "where kindness was everywhere and joy filled the air with laughter, hugs, and love.

Hope you are all safe, well, and growing kids these days is hard, so if you are doing your best then know I appreciate that. Share love, share kindness. Even the girls I work with give back to the world. Remember the world is bigger than just your home. :D

xoxoxo
your story teller/poet
Debbie

Be a Stepping stone in the World pond and create a ripple of Kindness!!