There are lots of kids I love. But as adults we may feel forced to love all kids, because they are defenceless, innocent and small. Sometimes we are quick to pass off misbehaviours as a by-product of being a juvenile.
We say things like:
“Well he/she’s only a child.”
or “They’ll grow out of it.”
or “He/she doesn’t know how to express herself.”
or “They’re acting like that to get attention.”
or “Boys will be boys.” (which seems to state the obvious. It would make little sense to say “Boys will be turnips” as this is wholly untrue and a defiance of physics if it were).
For the most part childhood carries with it certain innocence for many. But what if some of these children are deliberately and systematically trying to unravel the highly fragile social structures us adults have been working to build over a number of centuries?
From a young age the majority of children establish an understanding of ‘right and wrong’. There is a conscious decision to choose wrong. We remember, from our own childhood, times we consciously chose to do wrong. We remember other children who consciously chose to do wrong. And we did not like them for this. And maybe we even hated them (which, in itself, is not a very nice thing to do). So as adults, is it still ok to dislike a child at a human level, even if our position in society requires otherwise?
I don’t feel that it’s socially unacceptable to dislike a child nowadays. To me, I think it’s less about an expectation to love children, and more that it’s easier to trace their misbehaviour as a result of something else (because they’re young), so you might be more inclined to forgive the behaviour?
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