Don’t underestimate children.

It’s a practice that is somewhat inherited these days. It’s easy to forget the perspective of a child once we leave that part of ourselves behind, and we tend to think they are less intelligent than they are. We recently had a lengthy conversation on the topic, based around movies such as Disney’s “Frozen” or “Encanto.”

We concluded that these are the first signs of a child’s true awareness. They become infatuated with movies like these because there is a story to follow, stories that teach us about very real problems with humanity or in society, rather than just colorful characters filling screen time.

In Thursday’s Eagle, an article was published about two young students, Tobin Maharg of Emily Brittain Elementary School and Jonathan Dahl of Sugarcreek Elementary School. They raised $1,200 to donate to Children and Youth Services as members of the William C. Graham Manor Squires, a Masonic youth leadership group.

First, we want to commend these exceptional young men on their selflessness and determination to give back. Not many adults would have the drive to accomplish what you have. Furthermore, we have to give a shout out to their parents. They are, obviously, quite good at what they do.

Charlie Johns, administrator of Butler County Children and Youth Services, said: “It was incredible to see that they could conceive of the need of helping kids just like them.”

Incredible, indeed.

Still, there’s reason to believe it isn’t as uncommon as it sounds. If you think children aren’t watching or listening, you’d be making a grave mistake. They see and hear all of what goes on around them. That’s not to say we should expect them to break their backs over volunteer work 24/7, but, at the very least, we should afford them the respect of not insulting their intelligence.

They can grasp more concepts than we’d probably like them to, if we’re being honest with ourselves. Our efforts to shield them are noble, but always end up futile. These two students prove that children know when others are in need, thus, they know that the world tilts out of balance for others sometimes.

If we listened to them, more honest and true than anyone three times their ages, it would probably be a much better use of our time than dwelling on some of the things adults like to gripe and argue about.

Children have a special kind of wisdom, and it deserves to be heard. Aiding them in their goals now might help them retain the belief that they can accomplish big things much later.

Maybe investing more time in our children will make their world a better place after we’ve left it.

–CM