Too small to ignore

Last spring a book came across my desk, sent to me by the head office of early childhood education of ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). The book was Too Small to Ignore, by Wess Stafford, president and CEO of Compassion International. The book looked interesting and I stuck in my briefcase to take home and read. Unfortunately, my husband got to it before I did and began reading it. Before I knew what was happening, he was telling everyone about the book, suggesting that anyone who has children, works with children, or even knows children should read this book. He even began to offer my book to others to borrow and read and I hadn’t even read it yet! With that I decided that I better get busy and read the book and you know, I have to agree with him – it is a book that everyone who knows children and works with them should read.

The premise of Dr. Stafford’s book is simple: “Children are too important and too intensely loved by God to be left to chance. Children belong to all of us and we are compelled to intervene on their behalf. We must invest in children – all across the world.” Many times we think of children as the “least of these” but remember Jesus said that unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:4-5).

Interspersed with the author’s own experiences growing up in a West African village as the son of missionaries are challenges to consider the plight of our children today, not only in our western culture but around the world. His own childhood in Africa taught him that it does indeed take a village to raise a child. Childhood in non-western societies like the one in which he was raised is “a constant, gentle flow that moves from infant to toddler to child to youth and on to adulthood in a steady integrated progression. In each phase of childhood, the child is allowed to be as much a part of the ebb and flow of daily life as his or her capabilities allow.” By contrast we (in Western culture) have “forgotten that there really is no higher calling than to raise a child. We tend to do a lot for our children but not nearly enough with our children.”

So how do we begin to change our unhealthy views of children to more positive ones? How do we discover and nurture their dreams in our fast-paced society? It requires deliberate effort on our part. Dr. Stafford suggests three ways: (1) Go to them. Enter their world; (2) Bring them into your world; and (3) Merge the two worlds. In his book he endeavors to elaborate and enlighten the reader on just how to do those things. He gives persuasive and logical reasons, beyond love and kindness, to invest in our children both here and across the world. He reminds us that one day we will be the ones yearning for time with them in their busy schedules as they occupy the seats of power in the world. He reminds us that “it cannot wait until tomorrow. Today is the moment to shape children’s spirits, character, and values, to help them build castles in the clouds.” Dr. Stafford will encourage you to turn good intentions into strategies for changing the world – one child at a time!

-Lorraine Brandt, Wonder Club School