We are responsible for children

Photo Kim Anderson

I had a very busy week. Worked far too much but had some really good moments. I  enjoyed today the laughing of some children. I love kids. I think kids are hard work but nothing gives me more pleasure. They are honest and straight forward, an open book, flexible, keen to learn, innocent and fun loving. I have the experience that they all want to succeed and to be good. When it doesn't seem like that there is usaully a good reason for it.
So when I found this poem I hope you take it in. And think about it, if you change the life of a child by giving them your real attention, you not only help them you help their future children and all surrounding people. Children are wiser than you think. . They should be valued a lot more than they are at the moment. That doesn't mean giving in to them. No they want you to set limits to give them clarity.  No it means to respect them, care about them and listen to them and they wil respect you. After all we are responsible for children!

Photo Kim Anderson

We are responsible for children

By Ina Hughus

We are responsible for children
Who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
Who like to be tickled,
Who stomp in puddles and ruin their pants,
Who sneak popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.

But we are also responsible for those
Who stare at photographers from behind broken windows,
Who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who never "counted potatoes,"
Who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an x-rated world.

We are also responsible for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
Who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off key,
Who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
Who slurp their soup.

But we are also responsible for those
Who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them suffer,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures won't be on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.

We are also responsible for children
Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse the tub,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like tob e kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
Whose smiles can make us cry.

We are responsible for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.

We are responsible for children
Who want to be carried and for those who must,
For those we never give up on
And for those who don't get a second chance,
For those we smother...

And for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

I was bad this week but I will visit you all in the coming days. Arohanui marja