Let Time Stand Still

Do you ever feel yourself growing older? Probably not. It's such a gradual process that, even though your mom asks on your birthday, "How does it feel to finally be (insert age here)," you might think, "Well, I feel exactly the same way I did yesterday."

Most kids think they can't grow up fast enough. When you're five, you can't wait to turn six. When you're 15, you can't wait to turn 16. Kids ache for freedom and responsibility. And it just doesn't seem to happen as quickly as they want it to.

But some kids actually do grow up much too fast. They transform from children to parents at a pace that almost seems instantaneous, having to take care of a handful of younger siblings or take care of themselves, having to deal with stresses like having a home, having enough food, or having adequate clothes. Responsibility is thrown at them instead of handed to them. They have it, whether they like it or not. Whether they chose it or not. I can imagine at this point, a child would ache to be taken care of rather than being the one taking care of others. They might wish to be dependent rather than independent. Slwoing down the clock might not seem so bad anymore.

What would we do if all the children in the world became tiny adults? From whom would we remember to have an insatiable curiosity for the world around us? From whom would we remember to have so much joy that we can't sit still? From whom would we remember to dance and not care who's watching, to sing and not care who's listening? From whom would we be reminded what it's like to have child-like faith?

How do we help to give a child back their childhood?

I feel like what we do at the Tyler Square Youth Program pumps kids full of opportunities to just be who they are: a kid. We do more than that, though, we give kids the opportunity to spend time with their families and to play the role of a kid within the family dynamic. We have Teen Late Nights, Family Nights, Story times, Skate Days, etc. Sometimes it seems like just a lot meaningless fun. But it's not. These are opportunities for families to enjoy each other, to forget about the stresses of life, to build relationships and memories with one another, to learn how to spend quality time together as a family without sitting in front of a television screen. They get out and enjoy the world around them. Together.