Thinking Thursday - The Normal Child

Many years ago we had a saying that, “Oh that child is not normal.” I also heard people say, “Oh, they don’t come from a normal family.” Writers wrote “normal” books, and people lived normal lives.

Somewhere along the road things began to change. The normal “gauge” changed norms. A series of not-normal activities brought a lack of trust in what was always considered normal. In the case of writing that was good. There were more ideas, exposures and situations.

I am not so sure about our families. What changed the gauge on the normal children and normal family? I think we have to look at the definition of a normal family before answering, and there lies the problem. Many years ago a normal child—one with normal behavior, habits and questions for someone of the same age—came from a normal family—two parents, neighbors who took care of each other, a ritualistic bedtime for the children and a time for creating happy memories together.

Now, a normal family cannot be defined in those terms. There are two many one parent households, next door neighbors whose names we do not know, bed times whenever and very little time together. All of this not only redefines normal, but takes a toll on our precious children.

We still stay, “I did not have a normal childhood.” Now we don’t know what that means.
We need to be able to define a normal childhood and address the issues that will help make our families “normal.”

What do you think?