But who should we blame? Is it the parents’ fault, because they have failed in their education? Is it society’s fault? Or is there no one else to blame but the children?
I do not
know the answer to that question.
At the same
time, children are usually such honest little beings. I have assisted as a coach
for some years and I have made so many wonderful experiences there. You soon learn that you are not only the
children’s coach, but also their attachment figure, their role model, their
friend and sometimes even their psychologist. They tell you about school, their
family, their friends, their problems and what makes them happy. It is amazing how much responsibility you already have for them, although just seeing them at most once or twice a week for two hours.
Of course,
you need to keep some distance though.
Even their
parents talk to you about their children’s problems and want some advice. Considering that I am
not a mother and that I had so many problems with my own family, it was
actually a strange thing to do.
Do you know
that big, sincere happy smile that only a child can give you? And do you know
these things only children seem to recognize? There were actually two children that
told me I had pretty teeth. Who looks at the teeth of another person? Moreover,
I think my teeth are just very ordinary. But it made me laugh, it was such a
sweet compliment. I particularly appreciate compliments from children, because
they usually just say what they see and you can be sure that they don’t tell
you because they expect something in return.
I moved away from my home town a year ago, so
I wasn’t able to coach them anymore. I had to promise to visit them regularly and
one little girl even cried. It touched my heart, they were so sweet.
Can there be
anything more heart-warming than little children that are all excited and happy,
just because you visit them? They are lovely little creatures.
Anyway,
what I wanted to get at is that children are often so much more honest than
adults. But at the same time they can be so cruel. But are they really? Aren’t
adults crueler sometimes? There are so much terrible things in this world that
only adults are able to commit. Children are extremely straightforward and just
tell what is in their mind, which can be a good but also a bad thing. In
contrast, adults can be very furtive, which isn’t a good thing either, or is it
worse?
On the
other hand, when I don’t like someone I try to avoid him but not to bully him.
That is maybe something that only adults do.
So are they
cruel or just honest? Or are they both? And what about us? Are we better, after
all?
