There are plenty of things to worry about and it's perhaps a product of my age that today's subject is at the forefront of my mind. I compare my childhood with what I see today and it seems to me that despite the fact that in some ways we had to grow up very quickly as the German bombs fell around us, we were far more innocent than today's youngsters. I can remember arguing with some of my mates when I was about 12 years old about where babies came from. I was wrong and my education leapt forward that morning! Somehow I doubt if you could find a 12 year old today who isn't better informed than I was.
How did this come about? I have one point of reference, when I was a 14 year old choirboy we used to find ways of passing the time during the sermon, sometimes it was playing noughts and crosses or hangman but on this particular day I was reading a book, 'The Blue Lagoon' by H de Vere Stacpoole, published in 1908. I suddenly realised I was reading a quite graphic description of a man and woman making love! I remember clearly my dismay and guilt, not only about reading the content but it being in church!
Now, ask yourself the question, at what age does a modern child first have sex thrust into their consciousness, in advertising on the TV, in plays and films and in the press? Add to this the fact that many children have computers connected to the internet in the privacy of their bedrooms and have access to the most explicit pornography. Recent research has found children as young as 8 years old accessing this material. It gets worse, even if you make sure a child has no access to the internet, pornographic images are circulated on mobile phones including at times instances of what is called 'sexting', sending explicit images of yourself or friends to others. There is clearly a problem, the question is how serious is it?
One thing is certain, the genie is out of the bottle and there is no way we can get it back in. I don't think for one minute that this means all our children are going to grow up flawed but what I do believe is that a period of innocence at this vulnerable age, such as my experience, is no bad thing and modern children are missing out on this. This is our fault, we built this modern world of instant gratification, worth judged by the ability to consume and perhaps worst of all, celebrity culture. Somehow we have to alert our kids to the fact that there are deeper values, far more important than 15 minutes of fame on a TV talent programme. My only suggestion is to make sure that they have access to good books, good experiences and the knowledge of their own worth. We have to find a way of making them a better offer!
How it used to be. Kids reading Pam Ayres poetry in 1976.
