The Overprotection Misconception

2020 has thrown quite a bit at us

but 2019 was pretty action-packed too we

had the failed area 51 raids a woman’s

world cup win

and lori laughlin’s daughter almost rode

for usc

but national outrage arose over one key

event last year

tweets were posted hands were thrown

over this controversial matter

in may of 2019 the beloved kid show

arthur

aired an episode titled mr ratburn and

the special someone

in which arthur’s teacher mr rapper had

a gay marriage

all seemed well the rat and his

aardvark life partner walked down the

aisle

but not in alabama alabama public

television refused to air the episode

reasoning that kids are too young for

that type of exposure

now let’s get things straight in mr

rappern’s case not so straight

alabama public television intended to

protect kids

but frankly they over protected and

unfortunately

we suffer from a much larger issue of

overprotection today

we are afflicted by what ryan shea of

the berkeley political review

calls a growing overprotectiveness

towards american children

when a fear of kids getting too

political trumps the importance of youth

civic

engagement and letting kids be kids

means excusing them from necessary

discussions

it’s clear we aren’t doing enough to

keep kids informed

and involved and when a lack of

education leaves us vulnerable

to the darkness the hate the realities

of today’s world

adults and kids we can do better for the

younger generation

so today let’s examine the problems

first

how children are over overprotected and

second how it affects their perspective

then we’ll find a solution to let kids

see the world for what it is

because in order to connect ourselves to

world issues

and create a better future for us

overprotection

needs to be just that over

frankly we have an overprotection

misconception

now i know that sounds about as

complicated as i don’t know my mom

trying to navigate the new ios 14 update

but i promise it’s simple the adults and

children’s lives want the best for them

carrying the hefty responsibility of

raising and teaching us

they inherently want to keep us safe but

that’s where

inevitably overprotection comes into

play

let’s look at the facts on how climate

change is introduced to children

in 2019 npr polled parents and teachers

on how they discuss climate change with

kids an overwhelming 68 percent of

parents agreed that

yes climate change should be discussed

with kids

yet under half of them had even

discussed it with their own children at

home

as for teachers 74 believe that

climate change should be taught in

school but only 42 percent

actually teach it now i don’t expect my

math or spanish teachers to be telling

me about climate change

but when a common excuse for not

teaching it is kids are too young

you start to believe they either don’t

think kids are capable enough

or don’t think the issues are worth

caring about

and this is far from an isolated issue

let’s look at race

we’ve heard parents say time and time

again that they don’t want to explain

race to their kindergartner

because it encourages them to notice

racial differences

and therefore treat classmates of other

races differently

which makes sense to a certain extent

but when a study from the american

psychological association tells us that

starting at six months infants show

racial bias towards their own race and

against other races

and three-year-olds associate some

racial groups with negative traits

it’s clear that kids aren’t colorblind

they pick up on race whether you choose

to have the conversation or not

now it’s natural for young children to

develop racial bias

in fact it’s inevitable when we’re

little we spend the most time around our

family

people who look like us so we’re raised

to be most comfortable

around people who are like us but that

can’t be where it ends

skidmore college psychology professor

lee wilton explains that

even if it’s a difficult topic it’s

important to talk with children about

race

because it can be difficult to undo

racial bias once it takes root

without that conversation about race

that’s when innocent bias

turns into lifelong prejudice

so how does overprotection play out as

we grow older

well there’s two sides to the story the

perpetrator

and the victim in march of 2019 the

california board of education proposed a

new comprehensive

sex education curriculum which included

lgbtq

issues the response came from an

organization called

informed parents of california over 200

parents

protesting in front of the state capitol

parents chanted the phrase too much too

soon

you know what i think is really too much

too soon

the fact that 87 percent of lgbtq youth

report being bullied in school

when adults declare certain issues and

identities inappropriate

they send a message to their children

that those who are different from them

are people to be protected from rather

than

understood and that’s when kids bully

people they were taught to view as bad

they learn they learn tal intolerance

and hate

before they learn pemdas or the periodic

table

the bully becomes the perpetrator

spouting hate and inspiring it in others

and the kid who is bullied becomes a

victim forced to tolerate the hate and

remember it as they grow older

because that’s just what kids do

we have the ability to change this let’s

look at it from a new perspective

it’s not what kids do it’s what we

allow them to do and i think we can all

agree that none of us want to see our

classmates

our students our children become victims

maybe that’s why many kids will never

hear about sexual assault

until a friend relative or even they

experience it

while painting a picture of this perfect

world where sexual assault doesn’t exist

is certainly ideal

it’s not realistic because it cleverly

ignores the fact

that according to the national sexual

violence resource center

one in four girls and one in six boys

will be sexually abused before the age

of 18.

pretending those experiences don’t exist

is not only an injustice to survivors

it’s a disservice to future victims

sexual assault is not easy to talk about

it’s hard but it’s even harder to not

talk about it with your child

and watch them become a victim instead

we have the resources and knowledge

necessary to change this

we just need to use education as a tool

for prevention

and while i don’t have proof that by

doing this sexual assault will magically

disappear with the snap of a finger

i do have proof of progress

a sexual education and prevention

program for students called wise

was implemented at ray elementary school

in new hampshire

by engaging in age-appropriate

interactive lessons

the kids learned which of their body

parts were public and private

and through giving and receiving hugs

they learned how to ask for consent

and respond to someone who says no

the ray school’s principal matt laramie

says

when you see the cycle broken this early

it’s joyful this is how things are

supposed to be

my hope is that if we can implement

similar programs in more schools across

the country

over protection will be a thing of the

past and the cycle will be broken

in every child’s future

my absolute greatest passion in life is

speech and debate

to me it’s always been this unique

opportunity to use my words for good

above all it is the best community i’ve

ever had the privilege of being a part

of

every weekend i’m surrounded by high

schoolers informing themselves

and each other listening to other

perspectives

and just preparing to take on this crazy

world

now my dad is one of the greatest

influences in my life

my freshman year i remember i brought

him the judge at his first speech and

debate tournament

and after he judged i asked him what he

thought

and his answer was so simple yet

something that stuck with me to this day

he said you know other kids your age

are eating tide pods for fun but you

guys

you guys are the ones who give me hope

in your generation

it inspires me every day that kids my

age are willing to acknowledge the

uncomfortable

face the formidable and tackle the

seemingly impossible

all because they care we are living

proof that when we overcome over

protection

we are motivated and prepared to take on

our most pressing issues

all on our own and so the question

becomes

how can we protect kids without over

protecting

as for the solution you may be surprised

by where it comes from

as a tv show arthur has been proven to

contain multiple episodes with a moral

lesson

or a lesson that teaches the importance

of taking the perspective of others

researchers at uc davis and wake forest

university even found that

children who watched just one episode of

arthur with a moral lesson

measured higher levels of empathy and

open-mindedness

traits we can all use in battling over

protection

so i think we could all learn a little

something from arthur

little kids are the dws of the world

they’re constantly growing and learning

about the world around them

but they depend on people who are older

than them to guide them along the way

now for discussions with young children

gun violence and politics are certainly

not the topics to talk about

the key is feeding them information that

makes them more caring

about the world around them and the

people in it

by doing so we can raise a younger

generation with less overprotection

and more understanding and compassion

than i think we’ve ever seen

before teenagers you’re arthur

although life can sometimes feel a whole

lot like the arthur fist meme

it’s our job to be both the teachers and

the learners

spark those crucial conversations with

your younger siblings

and kids you may be tutoring or

babysitting

give them the knowledge you wish you had

when you were their age

most importantly as a teenager you can

now do your own research

have mature conversations and make a

real impact in your community

even if you grew up overprotected you

now have the power to break down those

barriers

and open yourself up to learning what

you were never taught

parents you’re jane and david read

especially in the early stages of your

child’s life

you have the greatest influence over

what they know

and what they don’t it is absolutely not

my place to tell parents how to raise

their children

my goal is not to point out parents

flaws because honestly

i think overprotection is a sign that

they really do have an overwhelming

amount of love and care for

us so instead i’m here to encourage

parents to be part of the change their

children

are already creating facilitate those

lessons with your kids

i recognize that educating them is

protecting them teachers you are none

other than mr rapper and himself

i know you just love teaching us that

the mitochondria is the powerhouse of

the cell

but we really do need to be learning

more than that

in science i want to learn about climate

change and history

i want to learn how past injustices have

shaped modern day inequalities

applying our content past the pages of

our textbooks

and out into the world is essential if

we ever want to be able to say

that overprotection is truly over

in the end overprotection comes down to

realizing

one thing safe doesn’t mean hiding us

from these issues and pretending we’ll

never face them

safe means we’re educated and prepared

to take on these challenges when they’re

already right in front of us

i am so beyond proud to be part of a

generation that treats this world like

we don’t have a backup

because we don’t adults you have the

power to stop over protecting

and start introducing us to the

sometimes scary

but very real issues that we need to

know

because as today’s youth and tomorrow’s

leaders

we deserve to know the truth thank you