20 November is the United Nations’ World Children’s Day
21 November is the Memorial of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the Catholic Calendar, World Children’s Day precedes the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. The feast is based on a story in one of the many Gospels and other writings from early Christian communities which did not find its way into the Scriptures. The Infancy Gospel of James describes Mary’s birth and childhood through stories modelled on the lives of Jesus and other Scriptural figures. Before she was born, Mary’s parents promised to dedicate her to God in the Temple, but waited until she was three years old so that she wouldn’t grieve at being separated from her parents. The paintings that represent the event depict Mary dancing up the steps of the Temple to be received by the High Priest.
That story may startle and even offend modern readers. It embodies an aspect of childhood that in our culture is in tension with other aspects. It highlights children’s agency, their unique human dignity, which finds expression in their right to make decisions about their life. Children are precious and have the right to be heard and consulted. This contrasts with the view that children are little animals who should be seen but whose voice should not be heard. In stories in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus takes issue with this view. He criticises his disciples for excluding children from adult company and sees in their spontaneity and wholeheartedness a model of faith. He honours their agency. The Early Church, too, honoured child martyrs who refused to deny their faith. This high view of children’s agency is also reflected today in the respect given to children who are world chess champions or compose enduring music before puberty.
A second aspect of childhood qualifies this view. It emphasises children’s differences from adults in their early stages of development. They have a limited sense of responsibility for their actions and understanding of consequences and need time to play. These features of child development suggest that they should be given space to play, should not be forced to work long hours under adult conditions, should not be separated lightly from their families, and certainly should not be placed under a judicial system designed for adults in a later stage of development. The choice to leave home should not have been left with an eight-year-old.
Central to bringing together these two aspects of childhood – the agency of children and their gradual development – is the importance of play in children’s lives. Through it, children explore the adult world. When playing as mothers and children, teachers and students, doctors and patients, being alive and dead, children explore the adult world in a safe way and try out different ways of acting in it. Later in childhood, they might wear the shirt of their favourite footballers, use a bat with the brand of a famous cricketer, hoping that their hero’s magic will alight on them, and gradually recognising that it doesn’t.
Play allows children to assume agency, ideally to test their actions against the response of adults, and in conversation to match their play to the adult world. It reminds us that children are not adults but are preparing in their own way to grow into adulthood.
Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ writes for Jesuit Communications and Jesuit Social Services.
