In touch with pure childhood innocence

Want to take your mind off of all the depressing events that boggle the mind? Want to relieve tension and bring some joy into your life? Try becoming acquainted with a free-wheeling 2-year-old — one that has been cherished and appreciated and not already diminished by inept parenting.

An intact 2-year-old is pure innocence, a bundle of wonder and energy who freely expresses his/her feelings from sheer delight to utter despair, from wholehearted love to bitter frustration without a moment’s hesitation, from “no” to “yes” or “no” to “NO” in nothing flat. Everything is new and wonderful (or sometimes scary) to such youngsters. They are as trusting as can be — ready to listen and absorb and believe unconditionally everything we tell them — whether it’s “naughty girl” or “You’re such a lovable boy.” They know they are the most wonderful things on Earth, that you are here to serve them, and that life is their personal bowl of cherries.

Two-year-olds are also discovering their powers and are not hesitant to use them. To truly appreciate a toddler, we must muster up much patience, ingenuity, flexibility and imagination. If these are not already your characteristics, a toddler will develop them in you at great speed — if you allow it. If not, your relationship with the child cannot blossom.

Children flourish when they enjoy the undivided, devoted attention of at least one kind, loving adult on a regular basis when nothing is planned, nothing is forced and the two of you can enjoy being together with no strings attached. They can learn much from us, but what we learn from them is just as important. We can renew, besides the patience, etc., the often neglected feelings of wonder and delight. We can generate openness and, above all, resurrect humility. We can also nurture the child within us.

Judy Ford’s sentiment in her book, “Wonderful Ways to Love a Grandchild,” applies to our relationship to all children. “Open your heart to your grandchild and your days will suddenly fill with moments of gladness and delight. … Wake up and pay close attention or the gifts they’re bringing might quietly slip out of sight.”

Whenever I see happy children lovingly tended by their caretakers, I can’t help but think about those hundreds of children of all ages who were snatched from their parents at the Mexico border and housed in very inadequate circumstances in the United States. Loving parents or not, it has had to cause terrible physical and psychological trauma. The repercussions that it bodes for their future have to be tremendous. It’s also a very obvious indication of the pathological mentality of those of our government leaders who approved of their being separated from their parents. As Marian Wright Edelman wrote in “Families in Peril”: “Despite misguided national leaders who believe that the American future rests in the stars rather than the family, in missiles rather than mothers, in bombs rather than babies, in tanks rather than teachers — now is the time to adopt new preventive investment strategies to build healthy children, self-sufficient youth and economically secure families.”

Enjoying the company of a young child of any age reminds us of how easily a child’s spirit can be damaged, how vulnerable they are, what a tremendous responsibility we have to see that they grow up sturdy and strong — mentally, physically and emotionally — and how important it is to protect their future. When I gaze into those sparkling, innocent, trusting eyes of the youngsters in our family, I see the faces of all children asking that their humanity be respected and cherished. 

As my favorite children’s advocate wrote in her book, “The Conspiracy Against Childhood”: “What is sacred about childhood is that it is the beginning, the essence of human life, the potential and the promise of individual human life, the potential and the promise of individual uniqueness, which we cannot predict and which we therefore must not try to harness — for when we do, we restrict the possibilities.”

Since 1984, Dorothy Dimitre has written more than 1,000 columns for various local newspapers. Her email address is gramsd@aceweb.com.