Children

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Sunshine. Summer days. Hot Plenty of time. Three boys. Railroad tracks.

The railroad tracks ran through a deep forest in the valley floor. They were across the road from our house in the country, and ran parallel with a creek.

Some days we walked the railroad tracks, some days the stream. We took in nature, talked, and searched for antiques. Yes, antiques.

Between the railroad tracks and the stream was an old power line with glass insulators. Some were still secured to the cross beams high in the air. Many were buried under leaves in the space between the tracks and creek. We’d crisscross until we found a cross beam lying on the ground and then unscrew the insulators or dig them out from under the leaves. Once we found people actually paid for these things, we were highly motivated to find them.

We also found some other valuables, such as old milk cans. At the end of the summer we set up an antique display in our driveway, enticing motorists to stop and buy. Many did.

We had a tv but our parents limited the time we could spend in front of it. Then, when lightening blew it out, they waited two years to get another one. That meant even more time. Time to walk the railroad and scour the creek for valuables. Or to fish. Or to swim.

We operate with the perspective today that every moment of a child’s life must be scheduled and regimented. If we don’t, the fear is they will indulge unholy pursuits. And they might. “Idle time is the devil’s workshop” became a saying because it is too often true.

But I’m not sure television and video games are a healthy substitute for unscheduled time. Besides providing unwholesome mental images and ideas, they drain a child’s creative juices.

Kids want to run, play, climb, investigate, explore. These activities are as natural for children as sneezing and spilling milk, and often just as inconvenient for the parents. But, if guided in the right way by mom and dad, they can be very satisfying and fulfilling for the kids. In spontaneous endeavors like these, children learn to think creatively and make mental associations they would never learn in front of a cartoon. Two other positives when kids can wander and play as I’ve described here: they get tired and they learn to occupy themselves. That means some potential quiet time for mom and dad.

I think kids who are monitored by caring adults when they are little will learn how to constructively use their idle time so that when they are older, idle time doesn’t have to be the devil’s workshop. It can be a time to walk railroads, dig for insulators and wade creeks.

Thinking of this takes me back thirty-five years. Even thinking about the sunny days and the hikes with my brothers is relaxing and stress-relieving.

Railroad tracks. They may be just the prescription we need for our over-structured and over-stressed society.

Warren Baldwin

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