Essence of childhood in danger

To the editor:
    As I have grown older one thing I realize that I will never be able to say is that I had a bad childhood. I am proud of this. I had one of the best childhoods someone could wish for. I do not say this to brag but to merely state a fact.
    I was raised with warmth and happiness. I remember those long summer days playing outside with my siblings as long as the sun was up. Running back and forth, screaming, shouting and having a blast. Completely submersed in our own magical made-up worlds, my siblings and I were able to travel the entire world without ever leaving out backyard.
    Now what makes me sad to see is how many children, especially in the newest generations, will never have such a childhood; not because the are restricted or have no opportunities, but because they are not given the breathing room to experience their own imagination. Their own power to create a world merely from their mind is undeveloped. Movies, video games and television shows take these opportunities away from these children. This influence causes little girls to want to be beauty queens at the age of 5 and boys to want to be as rough and “manly” as all the movies show.
    I believe it would be absolutely wonderful to see more children playing outside. Coming in for the night exhausted from all the adventures they have gone on in their afternoons. Covered from head to toe with the day they have experienced. For the life that is created with such is more powerful and more uplifting then any movie video game or television show can ever grant them.
Michelle Green
Monticello