The Moral of This Article is to Change the Moral
The purpose of children's books has always been to teach young kids lessons about life - How to share, how to make friends, how their parents still love them even when they are fighting, how to pursue dreams, etc.
But in this day and age, it may be time for the theme of children's books to change.
In today's society, many things have occurred that could have been prevented, including:
- High rates of obesity among both adults and youth
- Several Problems with the environment
- Drug use and abuse
- Modern day dangers and understanding war
Each of these are issues that can be addressed at a younger and younger age, so that children, as they grow, can be the change we hope to see in the world.
*Obesity
Children's books rarely focus on proper eating. There are a few children's books about eating vegetables and listening to your mother, but beyond that proper nutrition has largely been ignored. It is not necessary to write a children's book that only focuses on teaching children to eat their Brussels sprouts. Instead, these children's books can focus on overeating or eating too many bad foods without any good ones (not necessarily vegetables).
These books do not need to be designed to scare children into eating healthier. Quite the contrary, they should focus on all the positive things that come from eating well. They should also focus simply on eating better, rather than eating perfectly. Parents are the people that feed their children, but by focusing the theme of the book on not overeating bad foods, perhaps the child will be asking for one or two less fast food burgers as they grow older - something that could be a tremendous improvement to their overall health.
*Go Green!
The environment should definitely be a theme of children's books. Whether or not the parent believes in global warming, there are many positive ways that a book can teach a child to care for the environment, recycle and to not waste things like paper and plastics. Teaching a young child that they should continue to draw on the same piece of paper so they don't waste trees can, in fact, save trees. As the child grows older, hopefully they will keep these lessons with them in case they need to be the ones to combat any environmental crises in the future.
*Drug Use and Abuse
Many books have tried to touch this subject and many have been unsuccessful. Books these days should not focus on how horrible peer pressure is and why the child should not give in. Instead, they should teach the child that they don't need to say yes since there is so much they can enjoy otherwise. Peer pressure has changed a lot over the years, and rarely do any drug users try to force others to do the same else they ruin their friendship. Children's books need to evolve accordingly.
*Dangers
No child that watches TV can avoid things like war and fighting, so at least there are ways to address the issues without either frightening the child or ignoring the problem. These book should not point blame (the child is unlikely to understand the concept of blame correctly), nor do they need to address death or violence. But they can, at least, address modern day dangers in such a way that the children will not be scared when they come across a situation or a television program where this kind of activity occurs.
Over the years, the mindset and abilities of children have changed with the world. Children's books, it seems, have not changed with them. It is never a good idea to scare your kids into doing what you want, but educating them a little, even if they are too young to fully appreciate it, can help ensure they grow up and change the world for the better.
About the Author: New Author/ New Illustrator - Excellent, exciting and educational children's book with bright
colorful illustrations - www.MilkyMayMooberry.com
Have an idea for a book, or a manuscript you would like to see published email me at
dwayne@awhitingoriginal.com
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