There’s something unfair about the way the world keeps piling things onto the smallest shoulders. As if childhood were just a waiting room for adulthood—cut short, fast-tracked, burdened with expectations far too heavy for tiny hands to hold.
One moment, a child is clutching crayons, drawing dreams in wild, impossible colors. The next, they’re weighed down by worries they shouldn’t even know exist. School pressure. Family problems. The messes of grown-ups leaking into spaces meant for laughter. I see it everywhere—kids carrying loads that should never have been theirs to begin with.
And I get it. Because I was one of them. I know what it’s like to grow up a little too fast, to have playtime interrupted by realities far beyond my years. To be handed responsibilities before my hands were even big enough to catch them.
But here’s what I wish I knew then: Childhood isn’t something you can rewind. You don’t get a do-over. There’s no "let’s try that again" button once it's gone. And yet, we expect kids to carry things they shouldn’t—stress, fear, the echoes of adult problems.
When did we start treating childhood like a race instead of a season? When did we decide that being ahead is better than just being?
Let kids be kids. Let them play a little longer. Let them dream in colors too bright for reality. Let them believe in magic before the world tells them otherwise. Let them stumble without the weight of expectation pressing them down.
Because someday, they’ll grow up, and life will hand them the burdens meant for adults. But today? Today should be about scraped knees, belly laughs, and endless wonder.
So, if there’s a child in your life—whether yours, a sibling, a neighbor—don’t rush them to grow up. Protect their childhood the way you would guard something irreplaceable. Because that’s exactly what it is.
And if you were one of those kids who didn’t get to enjoy it the first time around, I hope you find pieces of it now. In the things that make you smile. In the moments where you let yourself breathe. In the times you remember that life isn’t just about survival—it’s about joy, too.
Let’s not steal childhood before it even begins. Let’s let kids be kids.
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