Let Kids Be Kids by Brenna

Chapter twelve has a specific quote at the beginning of the paragraph that says, “When children are confined to the society of men and women, they very soon acquire that kind of premature manhood which stops the growth of every vigorous power of mind or body... they should be excited to think for themselves; and this can only be done by mixing a number of children together, and making them jointly pursue the same objects.” Maybe it was just me as a kid, but if it wasn’t below freezing we were put outside to play. I have countless stories of my childhood and being raised up with three older boy cousins and a younger brother. I’m honestly shocked I’ve never broken a bone with them. There have been times we’d end the day covered from head to toe in mud, or be green from running and rolling in the green hay fields before they were cut. I think what Wollstonecraft is saying is that kids just need to be kids. Education is important, but it shouldn’t be so important it takes the child’s imagination and creativity away to where they’re just like their parents, which stops their development. Wollstonecraft even speaks on the difference between a child with wealthy parents going to boarding school, and a child who has to walk to school everyday then come home to work and explore. She says it’s far better for the kid who lives in the countryside. The kids who go to boarding school are kept away from the outside world and they become, as Wollstonecraft says, “gluttons and slovens instead of cultivating domestic affections.” Also, of course this only relates to men since girls aren’t educated equally. Still, Wollstonecraft recognizes that children learn through experiences that always can’t be taught inside of a classroom. I honestly love that she recognizes it because that is the childhood I had growing up. All the bumps and bruises I learned from, along with all of the life lessons from my grandparents and parents who actually invested in me. Wollstonecraft has an issue with that as well. She complains that mothers don’t invest time in with their children, but they do as Rebekah did in the Bible, and hope that she is more loved by the children than  their father, which creates a whole different problem. I really love Wollstonecraft’s view on letting children be children because that is what my childhood was based on, and I honestly think it was the best thing for me growing up, rather than an expensive education. 

I commented on Mary Emma and Sydney’s post.