Teaching our children to love the elderly
Once again, I was stuck in traffic. While our transport was stalled, an old lady selling flowers walked across. She caught my attention because I am used to seeing young children vending flowers, but rarely have I seen old people doing just that. At her age, she should be enjoying the remaining years of her life resting at home, but here she was, probably helping augment the family’s income.
The United Nations now officially calls these older people the “elderly”. I would like to think that the elderly, having achieved much in life in terms of experience, are given the opportunity to share their wisdom with the younger generation. We know that most elders live a less active life, having retired from their careers and the rigors of raising family. So, seeing a elders selling flower struck my sensitive chord. I had to call her. She could not hear me so I waved frantically as the traffic light was near to changing. When I finally bought her flower, I could see that she was quite happy as she walked to another car. Nothing beats experiencing talking and relating with the elderly. I would also recommend reading storybooks that might allow you and your child to have a deeper appreciation for elderly people. There are two books available in our local bookstores — one written by an English-American lady and the other by a Filipino. The first book is The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This can be simplified and re-told to our young children. When telling a story to children, we should keep in mind: “the younger the child, the simpler the language should be”. If you were to tell this to your 1-year-old, you should buy the book with visuals or pictures. For the 2- to 5-year-old, the picture book and your simplified translation will do. The 6-year old and older will enjoy the book itself, read by you or by them. The adult will love the story, as it is timeless! It has so much wisdom and love in it.
Let me quote the best part of The Velveteen Rabbit. The conversation takes place in a child’s room between 2 old and wise playthings, a Rabbit and a Skin Horse. “What is real?” asked the Rabbit one day. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become RFAL. It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes dropped out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are REAL, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
What do these books tell us? The elderly, although they might not look as pretty as they used to with their teeth falling, their hair sparse and bodies bent like a witch, are REAL and, as the Skin Horse explained to the Rabbit, they are beautiful to those who love them.
Little kids can be quite frank and tell you straight in your eye that you don’t look pretty or your clothes look bad on you. That may just happen when they see old ladles and men. Talk to your young one and explain that they should be gentle and respectful of the elderly, as they are precious persons.
We can show our love for the elderly by greeting them and asking them sincerely how they are, what they do, and wish them well. We can teach our kids to give way to the elderly — offer them your seat, help them across the room, and serve them first. Lucky are the kids who have their grandparents at home or see them often. For grandparents need the young to liven up their lives and children are sure to get more than bits of wisdom from these loving folks.