Who is Looking Out for the Kids?

Who’s looking out for the Kids?

Just who’s looking out for the kids?  I think that is a fair and important question.  The answer should concern all of us because as has been said by many, the children are indeed the future.

One thing that I have always known about kids is that they are much more fun than grownups.  By their very nature they just want to have fun.  When they laugh, they really laugh and when they cry, you know that there is something wrong.  After all they haven’t yet learned how to hide how they feel about things and the art of lying believably has not yet been developed.  I wonder just where they learn how to do that?

I think that I get along so well with kids because they think that I am one of them and they are right.  At nearly sixty five I might be the oldest kid in my neighborhood or the town for that matter and I feel good about that.

I have been an assistant cub master for the Cub Scout pack at our church for a couple of years and before that I taught primary at my church.  Primary is the class for the kids.  The one thing that I have always been certain of is that if you have a job that involves kids you have a responsibility that no one working with adults has and that is the truth.

I have noticed the tendency of people now a days to shirk their responsibilities.   That’s not what my mother taught me!!  It may just be that you know what I am talking about or you might wonder what that has to do with kids.

I looked up the word shirk.  I just wanted to be sure it meant what I thought it did.  (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shirk)  Whenever I do that I discover things I didn’t know like “shirk” is an intransitive verb or it can be a transitive verb, whatever they are!  I probably shouldn’t have slept through English class.  Of course I slept through history class too but I got an A in that one.  Perhaps even “sleep learning” can be selective!

Getting back to the kids, kids ask questions.  I read somewhere that preschool kids ask their parents about one hundred questions a day.  When we grow into teenagers the question asking has slowed to a trickle and in some cases it stops altogether.  That is with the exception of the “Can I borrow the car?” question that shows up around their 16th birthday.

I am sure that one of the biggest reasons they ask so many questions is curiosity.  They want to learn.  They want to figure out the world around them.  They are building who they will be when the questions go down to that trickle I mentioned.  That is why if you have something to do with kids you had better be on your toes because they are always watching you and even before they can put together a sentence they have that question thing going on.

With all of the crazy things going on in the world the question just who is looking out for the kids has become more important than ever.  The problem is that there a bunch of people that claim to be looking out for the kids who really aren’t.  It may be intentional or just stupidity it’s hard sometimes to tell the difference and sometimes there isn’t a difference.  I have no respect for those people who do that.

What I would like to do here is tell you about three people that I know are looking out for the kids.  One is a Teacher, one is a Doctor and third is a special type of Performer.  Each of these three individuals are really special people with a special responsibility that they do not “Shirk”.

The Teacher:

His name is Mark.  He teaches at an elementary school.  Even though I have known Mark for many years there were things I didn’t know.  When I asked him why he decided to become a teacher I discovered that he is a fourth generation school teacher.

Mark really likes kids and I know that they really like him.  I once saw a note written by one of his students when he was leaving one school to eventually work at another.  Kids don’t write notes to bad teachers or ones they don’t like. 

When he sees a kid he sees the potential that the child has hidden inside where someone else might not bother to look.  Maybe you remember a teacher or two like Mark that made a lasting impression on you.  I know without a doubt that he is making impressions on your kids if they are fortunate enough to be in his class.

Each morning when Mark gets dressed to go to work he doesn’t figure that he is going to go out and change the world.  Perhaps once and a while he might dream of doing that but he knows like any good teacher that the impact on the world that he will have is measured by how he helps those in his charge to eventually face the world and make the right decisions.

That is an awesome responsibility, but teachers like Mark are up for it.  Mark told me that when he walks into that classroom “It’s on” and from that point the words he uses, his body language and even his facial expressions need to be all directed to help the kids learn not only the lesson being taught but the lesson about what kind of person they want to be.  Anger whether expressed in word or deed has no place in that room.

While I talked to Mark about his job I discovered something else.  Mark was brought up by great parents.  It reminds me of my own feelings about my parents.  It also reminds me that the greatest teachers of all should be our parents.  Sadly today that is not as true as it was when I was a kid.

In fact the percentage of children born out of wedlock is staggering.  Before I started this article I never would have guessed that 40.8% of births in the US are to unmarried women (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/unmarry.htm).  As far as I can see those kids have a disadvantage right out of the starting gate.  I might start an argument there but then I care about the kids not the PC police.

One last thing about Mark, although I am not technically a kid he has taught me a lesson or two as well.  One time when I was working on something in his bathroom his son who is the same age as my granddaughter came to me with a can of soda.  He asked me if I could open it for him.  I said “sure” and did just that. 

A few minutes later I heard Mark ask his son where he got the soda.  Then he asked the question that taught me a lesson.  “Who opened it for you?”  His boy, being taught successfully to tell the truth said, “Tage”.  That’s when I learned that sugar before bed for a kid may not be good.  I also heard in his voice the love and patience he has for his children.  We should all be as fortunate to have a dad like that.

The Doctor:

His name is Fred Santoro but the kids just call him “Doctor Fred”.  Doctor Fred is a pediatrician.  I’ve seen Dr. Fred work close up.  I’ve watched him with my grandchildren.  You can tell a lot about a person by watching and listening if you ever take the time to do that.  If you can’t tell that Doctor Fred cares about the kids he takes care of you can’t tell white from green.

There are very few people in this world that actually figure out what they want to be before they get out of High School.  There are even fewer that actually become what they want to be.  They are a special breed.  That’s Doctor Fred.

While still in High School he wanted to be a pediatrician.  Even though while in medical school he saw many different medical specialties he still zeroed in on pediatrics.  Was it money or the quest for fame that was his inspiration?  Not a chance. 

Doctor Fred had something growing up that we all really need.  He had two “very loving” parents.  There were also four other kids running around that house with Fred sharing those loving parents.  In that home was laid the foundation that would someday become Doctor Fred.

Doctor Fred said that he enjoys watching the little ones in his care develop into young adults.  I suspect that there is something else going on here as well.  I suspect that he has an inborn desire to make a difference in the children’s lives that goes way beyond the medical side of the equation.

He remembers what it was like to be a kid.  He remembers what he feared about going to the doctor.  He also remembers what he enjoyed about those visits to the doctor.  He hasn’t simply filed those memories away.  He uses them to relate to the kids and their parents.  It works!

I know it works because my grandchildren look forward to their visits with Doctor Fred.  They know that he is there to help them and I know that my daughter trusts Doctor Fred.  My daughter is a very good judge of character.

One point that Doctor Fred made to me was that children’s welfare is dependent on adults and it follows that pediatricians have a great responsibility to look out for them and their families.  Parents and children put a lot of trust in their pediatricians.  For a guy like Doctor Fred that means that he puts the kids needs ahead of his own.  In his words, “It is a sacred trust.”

Doctor Fred takes joy from watching the kids grow and develop into self sufficient adults.  There is a reward here that goes beyond that money or fame thing.  It goes to the core of what makes us human.  It is the fulfillment of being able to help kids and their families during times of illness or stress.  In his words, “It is great to make a positive difference”.

What is the downside?  Well Doctor Fred doesn’t much like the paperwork or the time needed to get authorization for appropriate medications or the tests needed for the kids. 

The last thing I would like to say here is that if you need to put your trust in someone to be looking out for the kids, Doctor Fred is a safe bet!

The Performer:

His name is Steve.  I had a look at his website (www.steveelciandfriends.com).  That is when I learned a couple of more things that I didn’t know.  The first thing that I discovered was that Steve Elci writes the songs and music he and his friends perform.  Looking at the picture on his website I realized something else.  I discovered that one of his “Friends” is the daughter of a couple that we have been friends with for many years!

I wanted to know why he chose helping kids as a career.  I loved his answer.  He told me that he chose helping kids after the birth of his children.   His love for his own children inspires him to write songs that will have a positive impact on the kids that listen to them.  I am thinking that Steve is also a great and loving parent.  Are you sensing an pattern here?

It gets even better.  He has a test for the music that he writes.  He asks himself if it is a song that he would want his kids to hear and that isn’t all there is to it.  He also wants the songs he writes to help the world in which the kids live.  To use his words, “It’s a career in helping kids and families through music.  It’s what I am meant to do”.

I also wanted to know what kind of impact he was trying to have with the kids.  You might think that he already answered that question and in a way he partially did.  Only the goal you have may not always match the reason you started something.   Again, Steve doesn’t let the kids down.

Steve’s goal is to use a medium that has been successful for thousands of years in inspiring people.  Music and song!  He has a goal when he gets going on a song.  He wants the lyrics and the melodies to be catchy enough to make the kids and the parents sing and listen to the song over and over again so that the positive message in that song sinks in.  I would stress the word positive!  Any good teacher or parent knows that repetition is a great way to teach a child.  Sometimes even the grownups can get the message.  And in Steve’s own words “positive messages can reach far and wide”.

The last question I had for Steve was if he felt a special responsibility dealing with kids.  Here is what he said.

“The talent that was given to me (writing children's songs) I take very seriously.  I feel it is my responsibility to use this talent to better our children and future through music.  This talent was designed for children but not limited to them as I make conscious decisions to design my songs for parents to enjoy as well.  Families singing my music and enjoying time together inspires me to write more songs.  It's a wonderful feeling.”

I have no doubt that Steve Elci and Friends are looking out for the kids!! 

If you take anything away from this I hope it is that looking out for the kids is something that we all should do.  Kids need good loving parents.  They need a safe place to grow into adults.   They need good examples in the adults they encounter.  Does anyone today even know what that means?  Are you looking out for the kids?  I hope so!

Until next time, love your kids and watch over them, they are the greatest treasure you will ever have.