If you have seen this going around Facebook or other social media, you might reasonably have thought that the world owes you a legal pad and a pen, but nothing else.
The problem is, when most people see a meme like this, they are thinking of a spoiled 22 year old who thinks he should be given an A for simply showing up to his college courses. But as a foster parent, I see the world differently. I do not see adults (spoiled or otherwise), I see children.
And guess what, as a society, as the world, we do, in fact, owe our children many things. So here is my list of what you, of what every child, is entitled to.
- Parental Figure(s) who will commit to loving, caring for, and raising you to until you are capable of caring for yourself.
- A Home – not just four walls and a roof that protect you from the elements (though that is certainly important), but also a place where you can grow up feeling safe, where you are protected from bullying, abuse, and danger.
- Food – Every child deserves enough food to not only keep from starving but to grow, to thrive
- Clean Water to drink
- Education – If we want you to someday be able to take care of yourself, we have to give you the tools. If we want you to someday be able to do “better” than your parents, that means we have to give you tools they do not have.
- Sense of Worth – no child should grow up thinking they are “lesser” due to race, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, etc. Every child should know that they have inherent value as a human being, and that their value is equal to that of everyone else around them.
- A Childhood. That’s right, you all deserve a period of years in which your only job is to play, to learn at your natural pace, to explore the world, to make mistakes, and have someone shield you from the day to day responsibilities of being an adult.
So as you can see, I think the world owes each and every one of us quite a bit. And the funny thing is, I have yet to meet someone (not even people who posted the above meme on social media) who truly agrees with me.
The problem is not the kids, they say. If we help the kids, we might have to help the adults in their lives, and “those people” do not deserve it. They are, as Albert Dolittle would say, the undeserving poor. And in that case, people would rather err on the side of punishing the adults than providing for the children – the sins of the father, writ large.
Personally, I think it is more important to help the kids. And if, in helping the kids, I also help the parents, and make them better able to provide the things the kids are entitled to on their own, then that is a win/win.
And even if the adults are not able, or honestly, even choose not, to better provide for the children, then I still do not believe that removes the children’s entitlement to the things on the list above.
Because this is what we owe our children. All children. All of those who are not able to care for themselves. This is what the world owes them. It is what they are entitled to. It is what the world owes you. This is what you are entitled to.
(This post originally ran on Dear Alien Anthropologists)
About the author: Erin Shanendoah is an author, editor, and blogger who… Oh, let’s face it, Erin is “the man”. She works in management. She has been known to use the phrase “my staff”. But as happy as she is being the sole earner for her family, she can’t not write. She has experimented throughout the years writing multiple blogs and submitting her fiction for publication. She now has her “one true blog” at Dear Alien Anthropologists, where she writes about parenting, pets, personal finance, and even posts some original fiction.