Taking a Child's Perspective

A child's perspective can prove insightful as we're thinking about the world because they care about what really matters most. What's important. Weighty topics like...where's my next meal going to come from? When is it time to play? Lessons in simplicity that we can all learn from. Why should we see the world through a child's eyes? Maybe because it's time to grow up, shake off our tired views, and take a fresh perspective. How they look at the world can change our views in beneficial ways. They teach us just by asking the most important questions. Like, "Why can't we swim in the river? What's wrong with the air here? Why isn't this water OK to drink?" As a parent, these are heartbreaking questions to answer. It's hard to put the decline of our environment into "kid" terms. So the lesson becomes teaching our children to preserve what previous generations have destroyed. They deserve to inherit a world at least as decent as what we had growing up, and to be able to enjoy everyday living without being afraid of what's around them -- at the very least, they deserve a safe environment to grow up in. Isn't that their right? It's up to us to address these issues head-on. Perhaps the biggest part of the solution lies in us asking the right questions, the ones a child might pose. Like, "What's wrong here? And just who is in charge?" photo: Jesse Millan