Let them be little, a popular country song by Billy Dean from 2004, has these popular lyrics:
“Let them be little, cause they’re only that way for a while. Give them hope, give them praise, let them sleep in the middle. Oh just let them be little. So innocent, a precious soul, you turn around. It’s time to let go.”
Moms often quote these lyrics to themselves when rocking babies and dealing with toddlers, reminding themselves that they are only little for so long. I quote it when thinking about how kids seem to be forced into growing up too fast in today’s culture. Many kids are abandoning playing with toys in favor of electronics nowadays by the age of 7 according to an article in the UK. Now more than ever, there is a push for kids to grow up too fast. They have cell phones and iPads, giving up playing with toys for the latest games/apps. In our home we try to set rules about ages for ipods, cell phones and the battle of technology. It’s so hard to do! And it’s not just technology.
Having two teens in high school I see the pressure put on kids nowadays to start picking your career path as a freshman. Many kids have planned college visits before their junior year. You can skip high school completely in your junior and senior years by taking PSEO (Post Secondary Education Option) classes at the local college. While these are great options and fitting for some kids, I also see it as another push to make kids grow up too fast. Why is there such a hurry nowadays to turn kids into adults before their brains are even capable of making adult decisions?
Society is moving at such a pace that we don’t even have time for kids to be kids anymore. Girls are abandoning Barbies and American Girl Dolls in favor of you-tube channels with makeup tutorials in elementary school. Shopping for clothing in most stores for younger girls is tough. Much of what there is too choose from resembles that of the teenage and young adult clothing section.
The push for selecting a sport and excelling at that sport so you can be really talented and get scholarships is a real thing. And the consequences of that are showing up in kids who are experiencing burn out from sports. By the time they get to high school and college most don’t want to play anymore. The chances of our kids going pro in sports is very very small. Why should kids have to pick a sport like it’s their childhood career? I learned to play tennis in 8th grade and walked onto my freshman high school tennis team. Life was just a lot simpler back then. Whatever happened to kids just being kids and trying out sports and not having to carry a resume of their sports experience with them to be able to play in high school?
Maybe it’s because I turned 40 and all of a sudden I am feeling nostalgic for the “old days.” Maybe our parents felt this way too? But in talking with our friends we all agree, we don’t remember our childhood or high school having this type of pressure. We played with Barbies until we were 12. Heck I played with Barbies until I was like 14 and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
High School was the best time, kind of the pinnacle of your childhood. Hanging with friends, having more freedom and a little more responsibility. Yet still living in the freedom of being a teen and the bliss of not yet being full blown adults. College visits happened your senior year if you went at all. We couldn’t “Doogie Howser” our way out of high school into college. Well unless you were an absolute genius. I didn’t feel pressured to know what I wanted to do with my life when I walked through the doors of my high school. Heck, even when I walked through the doors of college on the first day…or on the last day if we’re being honest.
There’s plenty of time to be an adult, to have responsibilities, to be exhausted from working hard. I am sad that our kids are growing up in a world where they are basically living a mini adult life without the bills. Our kids only have one childhood. They have the rest of their lives to be adults. Let them play barbies and legos for a little longer, don’t rush to have the toys out of the home. Because as the lyrics go, they’re only that way for so long.
