Give Our Children a Voice

We need to stop trying to silence our children.  We need to look deeper at what they're trying to say.  It's as simple as that.  Allow me to explain....

I am a firm believer in children learning boundaries.  I believe that children need to learn that there is a time and a place to exercise your opinion.  Our job, as parents and caregivers, is to teach them to function in the adult world and creative productive adults.  We definitely need to teach them to respect adults, pay attention in class (or jobs), do their best and all of the other important lessons that encourage kids to productive adulthood.

Here's the thing.....

We need to give them a voice too.  I'm not talking about encouraging them to complain about every little thing and try to be the boss of their house.  What I'm talking about is encouraging them to explain themselves.  I'm talking about encouraging them to be involved and to shape their future through using their voices.  I'm talking about teaching them to speak up when they need to...speak up for themselves, speak up for their friends, speak up for their community.  I'm talking about empowering them and letting them have  a say in their lives and how they spend their days.  (No that does not mean allowing them to participate in harmful activities just because they want to).

Give them a voice and teach them to use it.