What Could You Do?

Today I found myself pondering all that I could have accomplished if no one had ever introduced me to the word "can't".

Think about it.  As children, we are taught a lot about all of the things that we cannot do.  One can't chew with their mouth open, cross the street without looking, stick a coat hanger in an electrical socket, or any one of a laundry list of things.  Admittedly, a lot of these restrictions probably save a lot of lives, and are a good thing to teach children about, but what about the other instances where we teach children what they can't do.

How many times have you ever heard a child say the phrase, "When I grow up, I want to..." only to immediately be told by some slightly condescending adult the variety of reasons why they shouldn't say that, why they can't be that, or how they should know better?  What if instead of telling children all of the reasons why they cannot do something, we instead told them all of the possibilities and helped them figure out a way to accomplish their dreams.

Many people may see this as silly, saying that children will outgrow most of these childhood fancies, and that they will likely forget all about ever saying them.  Granted, this might be true, but if even one child could live out a childhood dream, why wouldn't you encourage them on the path of happiness.  Plus, think of the learning that would occur if we encouraged children to think and plan about how to achieve the realization of these dreams.  Children would become better planners, more critical thinkers, and generally have a better sense of self esteem and self-worth.

Think about it a bit.  Think about a childhood dream, and then think about why you never went after it.  I bet that you will realize that it was because at some point some adult convinced you that it wasn't rational, possible, or for someone like you.  Wouldn't you like to help a child avoid ever being able to look back and remember a moment like that?