Editor,
With all the proposed and passing legislation that target LGBTQ+ children and the backlash against DEI work, I am repeatedly reminded that we as adults are becoming responsible for closing the doors to two core parts of childhood: connection and curiosity.
These two elements are essential, if not imperative, for children to thrive and become healthy adults. But it seems our sense of needing to control a narrative or society means we are taking charge of closing doors or setting up barriers for our children to exclude and silence. This is tragic.
I feel for the children who have questions and desire to have connections. As a parent, I hope to raise my child with an open curiosity about this world, with a safety to know, as his mom, he can feel safe to ask questions. But more than anything, I want him to know and feel connection to others. Because without that, it’s a big, lonely, often scary, world.
Worse, I’m beginning to see just how bitter we become when loss of connection occurs. My hope is we can instead show our children what it means to ask questions, be curious, and foster connection with one another.
Breanna Sweeney, Carmel
