Braced for the future...

Being involved in the childcare industry, I tend to hear some superb snippets of wisdom from the tiny humans. However, maybe due to how different children are with regards to how they see the world, they also produce some extraordinarily bizarre theories. As the case generally is in school, so truthfully reflected in today's American kids' sitcoms, certain hierarchies and rites of passage need to be adhered to to be elevated to the podium of 'cool'. However, nothing, not the tiny skirts, nor the lumberjack shirts nor the neon flooding the nightclubs prepared me from the conversation between three 9 year old girls in the back of my car the other afternoon.  'I want braces.' Now begging the obvious, which is what are 9 year old girls wearing pants with braces for, I had to actively work the muscles in my face not to ask any questions. Instead I listened further to confirm my suspicions - that the young ladies were in fact talking about oral apparatus and not menswear. The current gateway to 'cool' is now the interior mouth decor that, due to its colourful attire, makes teeth the new flag of superior social standing.

Whilst this is amusing in its anecdotal context, it made me wonder how this concept came to the young minds in my vehicle. Surely if they knew the true pain and popcorn-trapping properties of the metal teeth-cages they would think differently? So why do they not know? And will they find out? I still wonder about this, but it did make me think that we need to be more thorough about conversing with the young generations following in our footsteps. Although it is of great importance to allow and encourage expression of the individual, surely it should be coupled by a critical and enquiring mind? If an individual is so driven to be socially accepted that they desire methods and tools which they don't even understand, isn't that a rather pitiful reflection of what we are teaching our human apprentices? So in the restoration of a cultured and quality society, let us rather pass on the wisdom and art of self-expression so well-practised by John Lennon, Mahatma Ghandi and even Picasso. Revel in the ever awesome joy found in discovering the poetry of true personal expression, and not reflection of others. Also, simultaneously eating popcorn and Astros rock, if you've ever tried that you would never want braces, so perhaps the solution is not to deliver lengthy moral messages but rather insist on a diet of chocolate coated biscuit and exploded corn kernels.