We do not often give kids enough credit in today’s world. Spiritually speaking, this is very true. Children have the right to be children. This also means that they have the right to enjoy the things a child would enjoy. We often deliberately, or at least, willingly, expose our kids to ideas and thoughts that are not very childlike. All for the sake of being “cool” or “real”.

I worked in a summer daycare/daycamp one year. It was located at a Catholic church, but open to all children. Most of the children there were not Catholic, but attended other local churches. I often was able to lead the youngest group, mainly five and six year olds. They were already exposed to so much at that age. They sang along with the radio when in the daycare bus for outings. Some of the songs were certainly not appropriate for children. It was embarrassing to hear their sweet, high voices speak such thoughts and words. (Needless to say, I was not in charge of the radio).

In the mornings, we would divide into classrooms for early morning activities while we waited for the official start of the “camp” portion of the day. The children liked to draw and color at this time. They would beg for music from the radio to listen to while they worked.

I just could not do it. There were not even any “kid” stations at the time. I reasoned that if I had a child there, I would want to know that all that they were exposed to was safe and kid-friendly. Their minds were still being formed. I was not going to be responsible for corrupting that.

Instead, I found some of my old Christian kid’s music from home. Older? Yes. Hokey? A little. Safe? Absolutely! I was nervous introducing this, as any of the other workers would be glad to turn the radio on. No matter what I knew to be true, I did not want to lose face with the kids. Even young children can turn on someone they suspect does not have a clue about them, or who babies them.

Regardless, I decided to experiment. The next morning, we divided into classrooms. Without saying anything, I slipped my tape in and turned it on. As I handed out the color pages, I noticed a stillness that persisted. Then, an amazing thing happened. The room stayed quiet. The children, normally restless and rambunctious (hence the need to separate into classrooms until activities were ready), were QUIETLY coloring. Listening. Absorbing. A few even moved up as close to the tape player as possible, so they would not miss a word!

They had never heard this music and story before. It was almost polar opposite from the radio (kid-oriented vs. teen/adult-oriented). It allowed them to remain children.

Now, I am not opposed to different forms of music. At the time of this writing, a certain “kid’s” radio station is playing in the playroom. A great dance song is on, and I am bouncing in my seat to the beat. My point is, as grown-ups, we have to be sure we are not robbing our children of the right to the childishness of child things, regardless of how “dorky” or “boring” we might find them.

It is our spiritual duty to protect a child’s mind. When we neglect to do that, we are sinning against our own children. They trust us to guard them from having to grow up too fast. While we cannot control many of life’s events, we do have the ability to monitor what our children watch on tv and movies, what they hear in music.

Like I said, we listen to a “kid’s” radio station. The music can be very fun. We are also careful to talk to our children about it. There are some songs I turn off. I have three sons. They will grow up to love someday. I want them to understand what love really is, what a relationship is about. Some of the songs disrespect that. I explain why to them. We talk about what goes in our minds, and how music really is a big influence on what we think and feel. How music can honor love, and how it can make it something it should not be.

Lucky for us, the quality of good children’s entertainment is growing. There are many sources for safe, clean, fun kid-friendly tunes. Even the Christian world of music and entertainment is greatly improving. Sadly, it has often lagged behind the rest of the entertainment industry.

If you do not have good children’s entertainment, search some out! It is out there. Explore your options. Do not underestimate a child’s ability to appreciate child’s fare. Respect our call to shepherd our charges through the world, being in it, but not of it.

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