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