Working with children has been my main source of income for a while now. I have worked in childcare centers and at summer camps with several age groups, and currently nanny and babysit a few children who are individually very much their own people. Each of these kids I can identify with differently. They are different ages from one another and therefore in different stages of development from each other, but I can remember being where they all are so vividly. I greatly respect each family I work with and the work that these parents put into making sure their kids are well cared for and adapted into a smooth daily routine.
I grew up in rural Georgia. My childhood surroundings were drastically different from those of the kids I work with. Where they have me to drop them off, pick them up, and care for them while their parents are away, I had my grandparents. I had multiple massive backyards to play in depending on where I was spending my afternoon that day. I had trouble making friends on occasion, but I was a straight-A student, and in the gifted program, chorus, and dance lessons. I loved my life, my family, and being a kid in general.
Times have changed since I was a child. I am a vital part of my nanny children’s city upbringing, though I don’t know what being raised in the city is like firsthand. New Orleans kids have their own legacy of sorts to live up to just by being born into the city, or even moving here during childhood as transplants. As society and technology advance, there is pressure felt among kids at younger and younger ages to maintain a sense of urgency about their life goals and know what they are going to be when they grow up. I know families personally who have had to apply to kindergarten and complete entrance interviews through a process similar to applying to college.
I had an opportunity (and parental permission) to interview my college professor's son while babysitting him this week. He's 9 years old and finishing third grade next Friday, but I've known him since he was 2 years old and we have been buddies all these years:
Do you ever feel like you're in a hurry to grow up? Why?
"No! Because I like [being a kid], pretty much..."
What are your personal interests?
"I like Terrarea (it's a game I really like), I like playing soccer; Hmm... Candy! And card collecting."
What's your favorite thing about being a kid the age you are now?
"Being able to have lots of energy, which I will NOT have when I'm grown up."
Are you ever afraid of failing or disappointing someone you love if you aren't good at something?
"No- I'm not really afraid, not exactly. I might be afraid, but then I just have to work on it more so I can be better at it."
*When asked the same question about his friends, he said, "They're usually doing what they know how to do."
From the perspective of a third grader who was kicking a soccer ball around the house while answering my questions, I was able to affirm the observations I have made. There is a definite pressure on children to succeed, and kids feel it more than most adults will ever catch on. Though a lot of children may cope with these expectations brilliantly, others simply will not. This can be seen in academic performance as well as behavior at school and at home. It is our job as the adults in their lives to encourage them to develop senses of identity in being kids rather than worrying about whether they will succeed or fail when they grow up. We should encourage them to ask questions about the future, research what they want to know, and learn more about what they are interested in. We should be here to encourage them to have curiosity about life without fearing it.
