Why Raising Activist Children Matters

Imagine a world that looks exactly as you want it to. People show compassion for animals and each other. Farmed animals, animal abuse, wars, global warming, and discrimnation are things of the past. Humans, animals, and nature all live in harmony together on the planet.

Sounds pretty idyllic, right? Maybe impossible?

The harsh truth is that it might not be possible in my lifetime or yours.

BUT it is possible, in the not too distant future.

It’s possible because of children. Children, from the moment they’re conceived, begin to change the world around them. They change their birth mom’s physical body, the family structure they’re born/adopted/fostered into, and even the thoughts and feelings their parents/guardians have.

Children are truly magical beings. The questions they ask force adults around them to think about things in new ways, and in doing so, often create change.

For example, after a presentation at school about recycling, I went home and told my parents we were going to start recycling. I kind of made it an order, if I remember correctly. In any case, we did start recycling after that.

Here’s another, more subtle example. A former coworker of mine was married to a smoker. After their daughter was born, he would go out to the garage to smoke, thinking it would be healthier and also hopefully avoid showing her that particular bad habit. 

Kids being kids, she asked him what he did out there all the time. He was forced to answer honestly and also say that it’s bad. So, she asked if it’s bad, why he did it. Lacking an answer that would satisfy his daughter, he opted to get help quitting smoking instead.

All of this is to say that kids change the world around them. The values parents instill inform and create the future of the world.