The world feels like it’s on fire these days. Ongoing genocides in Gaza and Sudan, famine and war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, economic collapse and protests in Iran, and an energy and fuel crisis in Cuba, compounded by US sanctions, are just a few of the global challenges we are currently experiencing. At home, children have been detained for months in immigrant detention centers around the country, 14 states are facing budget deficits that will negatively impact schools, and child care funding and access remain depleted in many states, forcing providers across the country to close their doors. Too many families are besieged by rising food and healthcare costs, while others are trying to survive recent job losses and the lack of affordable housing. The situation is dire for many families, and there doesn’t appear to be any relief in sight.
Nonetheless, we must remind ourselves of our responsibility to protect childhood during these difficult times. But protecting childhood doesn’t mean assuming children are oblivious to these and other issues. Children consume more media and news today as screen access increases. Young children have likely heard of ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) killing American citizens in Minnesota or the President of the United States sharing racist images of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama. They may not understand what a genocide is, but they do know that there are conflicts around the world and that people are starving and being killed. Protecting childhood doesn’t mean shielding children from the world as it is.
The responsibility to protect childhood means strengthening children’s ability to understand what is happening and providing them with the tools to resist systems of oppression. We begin by acknowledging that children are aware of and desperately trying to make sense of the world. Thus, we might ask how they are feeling or whether they heard about a particular incident. We give them space to share their knowledge and process their emotions. And we provide age-appropriate information to address their questions or misconceptions. We remind them that people in power often do things that hurt other people, and when that happens, many people come together to put a stop to it.
We all need tools to resist the growing threats of fascism, genocide, and state-sanctioned oppression. In her recent essay on the pedagogical responsibility in early childhood education to respond to microfascism, Katie Sloan reminds us that
“As people become increasingly disillusioned with the political apparatus, especially paired with increasing poverty, erosion of job security, housing, etc., their unmet needs and insecurities are weaponized toward the Other, as they look to a leader to restore the realities of a better, albeit mythic, time.”
Tools such as political education, community-based mutual aid, protests, boycotts, and building a culture of care are just a few ways adults resist and survive challenging times. If we are going to reverse the trend of hurt people hurting people, we need to implement measures that respond to hate with love. And we protect childhood by modeling for children how we fight hate with love. We use their built-in fairness detector to discuss why locking up children whose only crime is that they were born in a different country isn’t fair, and respond by organizing food drives to support families too scared to leave the house and go to work. We unapologetically teach Black history as American history all year long to counter racist hate. We support children in speaking to elected officials about the need for safe, affordable spaces to grow and develop. We provide opportunities to develop critical thinking skills, practice empathy, and engage in collective action.
We can’t solve the world’s problems, but we can ensure that all children learn that no matter how bad things are, we have the power to resist through love. This is how we protect childhood in these times.
Check out our collection of resources for talking with children about ICE and this statement from NAEYC: Every Child Deserves Safety.
