Children - Do you care about them?

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I ask because as I've watched debates on this and other boards over the last couple of years I've noticed people coming from a variety of positions but I see a difference in perspective from people who have children in their lives whose futures are a concern to them.

 

The world we live in scares me - I'm glad I'm past the "half way mark" but at the same time I'm all the much more concerned about what will happen to my little ones in the coming generation. I don't have children of my own but I have some relatives I am able to spend quite a bit of time with.

 

So do you think about children and what effect our laws, public policies etc will have on their lives when you make decisions or align with a specific policy?

[Validus 0]

Question: Do I care about children?

 

Answer: Not at all...not even a little bit.

 

 

What I DO CARE ABOUT is the parents...and what they DO to their children. It's the parents who need to be watched...the kids were fine.

 

I do think we are a bit over protective of kids. Let 'em watch a horror film once in awhile, they won't die...honest.

[trekz 7]

Though I don't have children, several of my cousins do. My occupation - children's librarian - should give all a clue as to whether I consider children important, along with my previous occupation as a teacher and teacher's aide. I also served as a 4-H leader for a time.

 

I try to consider a variety of factors regarding laws and policies. The welfare of children is one of them, general fairness towards all members of society is another, preservation of natural resources and the planet is yet another.

 

A lot of people complain about taxes for schools - but I think schools are esssential to educate the future citizens of our country (or any country). Since I feel education is important, it follows that those directly involved in educating children should be paid adequately - meaning teachers and teacher aides. Not paying them adequately sends a message imo that educators (and education) are not really important. The whole topic of preschool education and Head Start should be a top topic, not an afterthought imo. Just today there was a report of a school bus crash, leading me to wonder yet again about school bus safety standards, the pay and training of school bus drivers, etc. If children are important, then we should pay attention to factors involving their safety.

 

I worry about the messages being sent children when we seem to value money above all other things. The worship of Sports stars, celebrities, those with perfect bodies, having better homes, cars etc., seems wrong to me, and destined to send children down some wrong paths.

 

Our foreign policy decisions, economic policy decisions, etc. affect the future for all of us, and in this as most other problems, children get no votes.

 

I do try to take the welfare of children into account, but I suspect the majority of people do not think that far ahead.

Edited October 26, 2006 by trekz

[MrPsychic 1]

I seen children and are aware of them, but I'm not particularly protective of them. Mostly I see them as an annoyance and if the kid is hurt, I blame the parents for not paying attention.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I dont' have time for a good response but I agree that making a society safe for children is everyone's responsibility - the old African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child". I am not saying parents don't have personal responsibility for their children - but in many cases we establish laws and policies that amount to obstacle courses in parents path. This regards how taxes are allocated etc.

[Kor37 9]

As many of you know, I do indeed have a son. His pic is below in my sig. Having a child really makes you more concerned about the future. If it were just me, I would think that the world is going down in flames more every year but who cares? I'll be dead before before it gets that bad. However, having a child of my own really makes me concerned for the future because it will affect my son. I'm afraid of what kind of world my son will have to live in if the moral decay thats going on in the world today is allowed to continue.I'm afraid of what kind of life my son will have if he has to live through a nuclear war. I'm afraid my son might get drafted if this escalation of war continues. I'm afraid of my son's ability to make a living if the outsourcing of every single thing we make in this country is allowed to continue. These are the kinds of things you worry about if you have kids.

[Charface 0]

Willie Nelson said it best with this lyric:

 

Cowboys like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain morning's

Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night

[ARMS 0]

I do care about kids, but cannot do anything to help them.

[trekfan 0]

I love kids! I have always had. I got three beautiful children and I don't understand why people can say that they don't care about kids. Kids are God's gift to us and the future generation.