MAPs and the inner child

[Liyowo]

I'm not gonna lie folks, when I see children playing around I long to join in and play as well. It's even more frustrating when I know they wouldn't mind but I still have to refrain because the adults would find that weird.

I think all the adults are seriously hurting themselves by cutting ties with anything that has to do with childhood. Our society acts as if children and adult are a whole different species. The truth is, adults are just children that has been around longer, we would all stand to benefit from remembering that. Instead, we all leave our sense of play, wonder and imagination to rot, conforming to the mold.

That's why I think every adult, including non-MAPs, would also benefit from what we advocate. A MAP friendly world would de facto also be a world where there is less of a divide between adults and children, including everyone's own inner child. There would be no reason to have it repressed.

[BLueRibbon]

I agree with you, but it's worth noting that what you're describing is a western problem.

You can interact (non-sexually) with children where I live, without people calling you a pedophile.

[Curson]

Honestly, I find it very painful and frustrating that we can have the same hobbies and interests but have to be excluded from interacting with children or young adults because we're not the same age. People seem like they're heavily under scrutiny as adults these days.

[Officerkrupke]

I agree with you, but it's worth noting that what you're describing is a western problem.

You can interact (non-sexually) with children where I live, without people calling you a pedophile.

Hard to fathom in USA. You be given the side eye and people would wonder if you had hidden motives for being so friendly.

[FairBlueLove]

What you write is beautiful and I agree with you.

Fortunately, as BR writes, there are still places on Earth where this divide is not there, or is less marked.

I live in the EU, where societal attitudes aren’t as polarized as in the US (though we’re definitely getting closer by the day). When kids come to me - like, when they actually ask for interaction instead of me trying to start it (I’m usually too timid to take the first step myself) - I’ll jump in without hesitation. I enjoy those moments, and I also see them as a small way to push back against what western society seems to be heading toward, trying to break the vicious pattern that starts when other people frown upon adults engaging with kids. That attitude makes it easier for us to pull back, which in turn makes kids more isolated or harder for them to see us as anything but distant figures. When we step away, they learn to expect that distance, and others, or even ourselves, find it easier to justify staying away. But when I do jump in, even if just for a few minutes, it feels like a tiny crack in that wall.

[Curson]

What you write is beautiful and I agree with you.

Fortunately, as BR writes, there are still places on Earth where this divide is not there, or is less marked.

I live in the EU, where societal attitudes aren’t as polarized as in the US (though we’re definitely getting closer by the day). When kids come to me - like, when they actually ask for interaction instead of me trying to start it (I’m usually too timid to take the first step myself) - I’ll jump in without hesitation. I enjoy those moments, and I also see them as a small way to push back against what western society seems to be heading toward, trying to break the vicious pattern that starts when other people frown upon adults engaging with kids. That attitude makes it easier for us to pull back, which in turn makes kids more isolated or harder for them to see us as anything but distant figures. When we step away, they learn to expect that distance, and others, or even ourselves, find it easier to justify staying away. But when I do jump in, even if just for a few minutes, it feels like a tiny crack in that wall.

How do people lift such attitudes in the US? I guess that's my question.