Years ago I met a lovely young woman at a publishing conference. She was starting a line of books for children, and I’ve kept a casual eye on her progress. She seems to be doing well.
But she’s trying to make books that “catalyze meaningful change.” This worries me.
Kids don’t need to be concerned about saving the planet. They need to learn how to clean their room, be nice to their siblings, get their homework done ….
This modern effort of pushing adult concerns (whether legit or not is a separate question) down on children is very unhealthy. Let kids worry about kid-level things!
I agree and disagree. I agree that we need to let kids be kids and not unduly rush them to adulthood. They only have a few years of childhood and will be adults for the remainder of their lives.
That said, I don’t think there’s anything unhealthy about exposing kids to various aspects of the adult world…especially if it’s potentially beneficial to them or others. Just as we expose kids to potential career information at young ages, this could be the same. As well, with the advent of the Internet, information is much more accessible and it can be designed to be a “fun” part of learning about the world.
Overall, I’d say it’s about balance and temperance. Information without indoctrination.