19/08/2026
Maybe we need to slow down and look at our children again.
I don’t have many photos of my childhood.
Not because I didn’t have a childhood worth remembering.
Quite the opposite.
We simply weren’t busy documenting it.
We were too busy living it.
I grew up in a time when children played outside until someone called them home. When a power outage was exciting because it meant all the kids in the neighborhood would come out. We played, talked, laughed, argued, fought, made up, and went home tired.
Sometimes we played until sunset.
Sometimes we got bullied.
Sometimes we fought.
Sometimes we got our feelings hurt.
But we also learned how to deal with people, how to make friends, how to solve problems, how to get bored and create our own fun, and how to simply be children.
Today, our children are growing up in a very different world.
They have access to things we never had, and sometimes they are exposed to things far beyond what we were exposed to at their age.
The recent incidents involving young students have been heartbreaking.
I’m not here to blame games for everything that happens to children. I’m not here to say that every child who plays a violent game will become violent.
But I do believe that what we repeatedly allow into a child’s mind matters.
And when there are so many other things they can do, why not give them more choices?
Let them play outside.
Let them ride a bicycle.
Let them play basketball.
Let them run around with the neighborhood kids.
Let them read, draw, build, learn an instrument, learn another language, discover a sport, or simply get bored enough to invent something.
And please, talk to them.
Ask what they’re watching.
Ask what they’re playing.
Ask who they’re talking to.
Notice when something changes.
Listen when they want to talk, even when you’re tired.
I know life is hard.
Parents are busy working, providing, paying bills, building careers, and trying to give their children a better future.
I understand that because I’m a parent too.
But sometimes, while we are busy building a better future for our children, we forget that they are already living their childhood today.
We cannot protect them from everything.
We cannot prevent every mistake, every disappointment, or every painful experience.
But we can be present.
We can guide them.
We can give them healthier choices.
We can make sure they know that they are loved, heard, and safe enough to tell us when something is wrong.
Because childhood only happens once.
And one day, our children will grow up and remember not only what we gave them…
but how it felt to be a child in our care.
Our children deserve a beautiful life.
And sometimes, giving them that beautiful life doesn’t require more money.
It requires more of us. ❤️
