Think It Over Thursday: Thoughts on childism

Even as I type the word, it is underlined as if it does not exist. Yet childism is prevalent in our culture. We have a world that is stacked against children the moment they are born, rendering them the “property” of parents who can do whatever they want with them. Sure, we have a few laws to prevent some of the strongest cruelties toward children, but spanking is perfectly legal. You can’t do it to a dog or a prison inmate, but for some reason it’s fine to do to our nation’s most vulnerable citizens in the name of “discipline.”

Then there are childless restaurants, hotels and flights. This is done for people—those with children and without—who claim they “deserve” time away from children. Personally, I think I deserve time out to enjoy with my whole family—and on the rare occasions my husband and I go out alone, other adults usually ruin it for us with their obnoxious cell phone or drunken behavior.

People complain about kids as if they aren’t people at all, but animals. In fact, some people claim that their pets are better than children with bumper stickers such as “My dog is smarter than your honor student.” My disdain for honor student stickers aside—I just don’t like external motivation—this is despicable. People actually hate children, which is so ironic since they were all children once.

When it comes to childism, I’m not sure how to eradicate it but I do know that conversation needs to occur. People need to respect the rights of children—the rights to not be spanked, to not have to kiss and hug relatives on demand, to be able to have full body autonomy at the very least.

If you are new to childism, are you willing to explore it further? What thoughts do you have on it initially? If you already are aware of it, do you do anything in your community to combat it, and how?

Photo, Wood Sprite's "Domo" art show piece, courtesy of Sara S.