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Do Not Keep Out Of Reach Of Children
A tale of overprotection often includes a tail of unfortunate consequences
A classic in popular culture is covering a child’s eyes when something horrible or inappropriate happens. A corpse, a naked body or a violent scene might grant such an action. I remember watching this animated series that had me and the rest of my primary school classmates enraptured, enthralled and entertained for years. Toward the end of our childhood, parents started expressing their concern about the show being too violent for young boys and girls. As a result, the following generation could no longer enjoy a story that — for all the violence — taught me values such as friendship, loyalty, justice and the importance of grieving.
Today, I read that children shouldn’t experience war. I am sure we can all agree that nobody should, that war is the most pernicious and destructive of human atrocities: its scale and cruelty are unmatched. Even when the adults have no choice but to fight, most sides of most conflicts will agree to spare the children. Indeed, children should not experience war. However, I don’t think we should cover their eyes and ears. If a kid is unfortunate enough to coexist with a violent conflict, the grown-ups must ensure the young ones can process the abhorrent events around them. War engulfs everything, and it is…