I saw a blog the other day talking about crafty ideas for what to put on the kids’ table for Thanksgiving. They were cute ideas, for certain.
But all I could think was, “Thank goodness my family didn’t do kids’ tables.”
On my father’s side, this was pretty easy. I only had one cousin growing up and since my aunt adopted two children, the family has kind of scattered and we don’t get together as much. So, it was pretty easy accommodating two extra seats at the regular table.
On my mother’s side, I have four first cousins. And my parents’ closest friends growing up, with whom we spent many a meal, had four children, as well.
But never did we have to sit at a table away from the adults. I think we very much benefited from this arrangement.
While the “children should be seen and not heard” philosophy has mostly gone by the wayside, it seems the kids’ table is the last vestige of this ridiculous mantra. Children are human beings, with brains and intellectual abilities. I think many adults don’t remember what it was like to be so young, how much children understand.
Sitting with adults, participating in adult conversation, being treated with respect — these are all very important in bringing up children to be functioning members of society. And I think it probably helps brain development, as well.
I’m not saying that there isn’t a place and time for children to just be children, with children. Of course there is. Play is important, too. But why separate them at other times? They are part of the family, whether that’s their blood relatives or the great Family of friends.
An Unexplored Wilderness 