Nov 7, 2006

Have we forgotten how to fly?

The world of the child is so often taken for granted and in many ways today forgotten. More often with today’s children they don’t get to be kids. They are being groomed to be the next prodigy. I used to teach guitar and for a number of students that I had I was just one more task to their never ending to do list which consisted of sports, clubs, school and other things that were supposibly good for them. Many of these kids barely had time for their homework let alone free play. Recent studies by many pediatricians and child psychologists are saying that all of this may actually not be good for children. The playtime that they are missing out on is important to their development and by training them to be little adults we are doing more harm then good. On the other side of the spectrum there are children that are so desperately fighting for their childhood and even their lives. These are children who may not have the opportunity to grow up because of illness. So many would give anything to have just one day of a healthy child’s life.

After reading the story of Peter Pan and researching the man who wrote it an interesting fact surfaced regarding J.M. Barrie. In 1929 Mr. Barrie donated the copyrights from his book adaptation of Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. The royalties from this classic children’s book has been put towards research and facilities to help children with cancer. GOSH was the first hospital to treat only children and is now the largest facility for childhood cancer treatment in Britain.

Peter Pan is really so much more than a simple folktale. It is a call to adults to remember their childhood. To remember the things that they dreamed about when they were young, which was what made childhood worth living. Today Peter Pan has taken on an even better role. The story for so many means hope and a chance to actually be able to live their lives so that they can fulfill their dreams.

Peter Pan can also be a wake up call to remind those of us who are adults to let children just be children. There is a time for work and stress but that time is not during childhood. Barrie’s story about the boy who refused to grow up who wanted to remain a child for the rest of his life reminds us about the time when the make believe was reality and we could all fly. Periodically we need to be reminded what it is like to fly. As Wendy says, “Because I am grown up, dearest. When people grow up they forget the way… Because they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly.”

For more information on GOSH and Peter Pan: http://healthfieldmedicare.suite101.com/blogs.cfm