The Dying Age of Childhood
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Posted By: Shenae Francis on November 29, 2010 Walking a few hundred feet away from my house, I stared blankly at the destructed reconstruction of my neighbor playground. This new structure saddened me. As I stood erect, arms tightly wrapped around my midsection attempting to stay warm, I began to recollect about the times my friends and I shared on the 20x10 land mass covered in mulch. Then the wind blew. This gust of wind contained so much force it halted my transcendence forcing me back to reality. The blue and green metal structure that was once stood, centered with swing sets compatible for each age group parallel to its mass, was now replaced with a plastic structure only suitable for toddlers. My childhood was, seemingly, gone. The symbolism of the downscaled structure spoke and is still speaking volumes. It represents a phase that I’ve coined “The Dying Age of Childhood.” This phase is not notorious yet. It doesn’t evoke uproar from the masses; nor does it beckon the attention of the majority, yet it’s captured my attention. Everywhere I turn, reality reiterates the same basic message: childhood is dying. As I stand here staring adulthood in the eyes, holding the hand of adolescents, my only aim is to expose the reality and save our youth. I’ve conjured up an explanation, correlated my data, condensed the reason, and have come to one simple conclusion: childhood is dying simply because society is killing it. Slowly stabbing it; each thrust edging children future away from being kids. As I recollect about the playground my friends and I held so sacred, a hold that was forcibly released when its final metal bar was tossed carelessly onto the back of the construction truck, memories of adventure flood my mind. Fun was never provided for us, we made it. Making fun was a skill obtained by my generation, handed down by generations past. But these ideals have failed to reach our current youth. All our children want to do is make music; make movies; make trouble. Where did we fail to pass the baton? I don’t know. I’ve back-tracked, skimmed through the media, and looked at this age brackets history: technology is the primary issue. The advent of the internet, cell phones, and video games are far before their time, and even my time, but it’s a permanent structure for them; a structure that’s ruining their youth. These apparatus’s steal their focus in the classroom, keep them inside after school, glued to the television at dinner, and leaves them awake well into the night. Video games rule their world; the internet consumes their time. Donkey Kong was never enough to keep my friends and me inside. Our children can’t be blamed though. Television doesn’t have a clear example of what being a kid really is. Cartoons are almost non-existent, except if it’s a learning show. But quite frankly, Dora and Diego don’t appeal to anyone over the age of 5. So what do they watch? Hannah Montana? Wizards of Waverly Place? Jonas? True Jackson? iCarly? All these shows depict “regular” kids with hardly regular lives. Whether it’s living a secret live as a teen post star or a wizard, being famous for being in a boy band or a kid with their own internet show, or being the Vice President of a major corporation, it’s, seemingly, unanimous that these shows aren’t what being a kid is about. What happened to the television shows that depicted children as just that: children? Regular kids that lived normal lives, that made it okay to be average. Uncool at times; scared of “closet monsters;” and anything and everything relatable. Essentially, modern television evokes this urge from our youth to age beyond their years, quickly running from childhood forcing their way into adulthood. So now Sweet Sixteen’s are replaced with baby showers; bar mitzvah’s replaced with funerals. The greatest tragedy of it all is where we, as the adults, turn a blind eye to this slow death. In the neighborhood adjacent to my own, a neighborhood bully is allowed, at the tender age of nine, to own a bee-bee gun; a toy in which he terrorizes his “friends,” and shoots the mailman. A few weeks ago, he coerced another young boy, to unmercifully shoot another young girl in the back with this dangerous weapon three times repeatedly. This doesn’t make local news, cover the front page of the local paper, or even become a cause for concern. Parents in the neighborhood, shake their head is shame, defeated. Whilst his mother writes it off as him “being a child.” An act war and one that has incarcerated millions throughout history, is now considered child’s play. But childhood isn’t dying right? This is a perilous situation. When will America see that? When our children begin smoking at 7, reproducing at 10, committing suicide at 11, we should see that something is wrong. Childhood is crying out for help, because our children can’t. They’re peripheral vision is blocked by their own reality. They think this is how it’s supposed to be, but we, as the adults, know better. So I ask: America, how can we save our children; but better yet, when will save them. The swing sets are empty after school, the playground silent. It’s eerie, still, noiselessness, deafens me; but much like a human and a dog whistle, no one else seems to hear it but me. Eyes are blind to this reality, yet I am blinded because I am able to see this reality. I just want to save our youth, but I can’t do it alone. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Shenae Francis
Howard University class of 2012 Member Since November 2010 |
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