When I Was a Child Again: An Anthology of the Polish Father of Child Human Rights

This book is a collection of two books by Kozak, the father of Polish children's human rights . They are "Children Have the Right to Be Respected" and "When I'm a Child Again" . The former was published in 1929 and the latter was published in 1925. It's almost a hundred years now, but Kozak's description of children is very subtle and precise. I have hardly read such a profound description in other parenting books, as if Kozak and the children's souls are one , and this book is written in the identity of an adult who has changed back to a child, seeing the world with the eyes of a child, and feeling the changes that we have long been accustomed to with the heart of a child, and using words instead of children to shout to adults, Awaken our paralyzed sense of inhumanity, and then reconsider the role of children in our lives.

Isn't a child just an unarmed little person who has to rely on his parents for food and clothing? Not being productive, but also needing to spend money and energy to take care of them, giving them enough food and clothing, and proper upbringing is not enough to be considered a qualified parent? But the author reminds all parents in the book that as a child, they are very vulnerable . They will be scolded for procrastinating every day, constantly prevented from touching certain things, restricted from eating certain foods, and threatened at every turn. Deprived of the right to enjoyment, adults have their own storage space to put many items, but blame children for throwing things all over the floor and not tidy up. In fact, children have far less resources than adults, but they are required to have stricter standards than adults . We always hear adults say, "Don't buy too much for children." It seems to be saying that children don't deserve good quality things.

One of the author's words in the book is very touching: "What you give to children is to do poorly. First-class painters paint for adults, and those who paint for children are third-rate painters. Stories, poems and songs written to us It also seems to be written out of sympathy, and anyone can write it.”

After reading this passage, I really feel ashamed and heartache. Indeed, a small part of our hearts believe that children "don't need" to have "good" things, as long as it is not too bad, if there are parents who always give When children buy expensive things, they will be criticized for being extravagant and wasteful, or it is just the parents' own vanity. Is it a sin to give good things to children within their ability? Maybe we need to rethink and elevate the existence and positioning of children to an equal or even higher position than adults, and don’t use the mentality of charity, because they already have their own rights .

I once heard this passage in the mouths of friends around me: "Whatever I give my child to eat, he must eat it. If he wants to choose what he wants to eat, he can only decide when he makes money when he is an adult." I heard it very much at the time. Shocked, it turns out that adults have such a powerful dominant power. Adults have financial ability, jobs, houses, and cars, so we can easily help children decide anything, even if they want to interfere, we hope that they will accept the adults' opinions values, I hope they can be easily controlled, but that is what adults expect. From a child's point of view, all things are novel and all feelings are strong . When the protagonist in the book becomes a child's It was only then that he realized the troubles and sorrows of being a child again, the incomprehensible emotional ups and downs, the great emphasis on small things but always being humiliated by adults with contemptuous eyes and words, and then he had to pay more. Only hard work and restraint can win the praise and recognition of adults.

We despise the child because he doesn't know, he doesn't guess, he doesn't expect.

Our mistrust of children changes over time, but instead of diminishing, it increases year by year.

Children are like troublemakers, alcoholics, rebels, lunatics. How can we live under the same roof with such a person?

I believe that as a parent, there are times when you feel that your child is troublesome. Even if you know such an idea is not advisable, you still make such a comment unconsciously. After all, a human being so different from us in knowledge, experience, and feeling always always There are many unexpected situations in our life. Can we really think from their perspective when we are angry, worried, and regretful? To be honest, it's really hard, unless we really take a time machine to go back to our childhood, and this book plays a role in evoking childhood. I feel the helplessness and sadness of children when they face blame , and also relived the joy and satisfaction of children in the face of beautiful things.

Growing up makes people gradually lose their sensibility to things, and nurturing new life gives us the opportunity and ability to feel again . Sometimes we relax a little, discover the mystery and charm of everything together with our children, and look back at the serious board of the past. The face of the self will think why is it necessary?