Mamasan phoned me, a little upset and disappointed.
She plans to take the grandboy to an interactive display where the visitors get a glimpse of true poverty.The experience is nowhere near as immersive as actually being in true poverty, but it is as close as a young American mamasan and her boy will get any time soon. At least I pray this is the case.
Her peers in the area haven’t heard of it, and their responses are what is upsetting to young mamasan.
They range from, “Are you sure this is appropriate for your son?” to, “Are you sure he’s going to have fun at this thing?”
Her response is heart-warming to me and give me hope for those of her generation: “H**l yes it’s ENTIRELY appropriate, and this is something he and I NEED to understand.”
Even as young parents, mamasan’s mother and I were pressured into the “but is it FUN?” mindset for kids’ events we chose to take the children to.
We parents aren’t in the business of making sure the kids have “FUN” all the time. Sometimes life’s most important lessons aren’t “FUN” but are needed, nonetheless.
Keep educating, young mamasan. Our kids’ kids should value others’ needs far above their own entertainment.
