We Get Back What We Imprint

Published: Thu, 07/15/21

Dear

I recently had an unusual opportunity to sit and listen to a number of young children express their thoughts and concerns about the state of the world. I love listening to children and have had lots of opportunity, both through my days as a Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist and through the clients that I have seen over the years.

I also have four grown children of my own and two grandchildren, so I know personally the impact of imprinting. I know what I wish I could have done differently and also, like you, have evolved into an awareness now what I didn't know then. I'm hopeful that this blog will give those adults who are in a position to create positive change in the lives of children, the food for thought to do just that.

To be honest, listening to these children caused my heart to sink a bit. I wanted to rush in and give them a more encouraging perspective, to remind them of the gift that they are to their families, their teachers and to humanity. I wanted to ask them about what they would change if they could and how together we could do that. Listening, I had to stop and ask myself some questions. Is this the way children thought now? Is this what they believed to be true? It's been a while since I have been inside an elementary school, except to go and pick up my grandson, but what I saw in their faces, heard in their voices and felt in their energy prompted this blog. Has so much changed over this last year and a half or is this what was always there, but went unnoticed by myself and others until now?

Either way it is time for positive change and I know that together we can create it, one family at a time.

Love,

Suzy

WE GET BACK WHAT WE IMPRINT

After a decade of working with adult clients regarding the impact of early experiences on their lives, there is no doubt in my mind that what we imprint a child with is what they will believe to be so. If we model anger, fear, hatred, they will express that. If we act with compassion, love and understanding, they will greet those they meet in the same way. When we teach our children separation, they adopt that as their belief. If we teach oneness, love, forgiveness, they become loving, kind and forgiving.

A long time ago, I used to offer workshops for preschool teachers. During our time together, I would encourage them to acknowledge the vitally important role that they play. I share the same information with every parent of young children that I engage with. I used to tell these preschool teachers that a neurologist can help us understand the human brain, a psychologist may be able to help us make sense of the impact of early imprinting on a child, but a preschool teacher, parent and or caregiver of young children is actually in charge of supportively developing that child’s perception of themselves and thus the world.

One only needs to observe the physical posture of a child to tell if they have been beaten down with condemnation or encouraged with enthusiasm for their uniqueness. The child who has been fed fear, limitations and disapproval hangs his head, drags his feet and feels lifeless. The child with confidence carries his body in such a way that demonstrates that he can meet whatever comes his way!

Over the last year or so one of the hardest things for me to witness has been the covered faces of young children. It’s been hard to listen to their conversations, which express the polarizing beliefs of their parents. It’s been hard to watch them stand 6 feet apart, when their natural inclination is to hug, laugh and play. It’s been challenging to feel their confusion, numbness and anxiety.

I used to think, that it was just because I was getting older, that I was concerned about the amount of violence in their “games” or the over sexualization of the songs that they listen to, but that is not it. All of this is programming! Clear and simple. Parents have bought into this, hook, line and sinker. This is understandable as it was what was fed to them, but like a slow drip that goes unnoticed, the distortion is becoming greater and greater. It’s time to pay attention because all of the information that is being plugged into our children is exactly what we will get out in the future.

Children by nature our creative, vibrant, enthusiastic information sponges. It is not their responsibility to determine what they should or should not absorb. At early stages of development (especially under the age of 7), they are simply being informed by their environments. What goes in is our responsibility. The trouble is that generation after generation we have been fed the same diet of propaganda. Few have been taught to think for themselves and the ones that do naturally been taught to be afraid to share their awareness.

Honestly, what are we teaching our children? We need to stop and give that some serious consideration. Regardless of what we believe or don’t believe, we need to pause and consider how that information is seen, heard and experienced within the hearts, minds and bodies of our children. If for one moment, we actually listened to our own beliefs, through the lens of a young child, we would quickly realize that we may not want them to live out their lives with such limitations. We may recognize that it is our own distortion of innocence that places us under the delusion that it is ok for our children to be imprinted with information that separates them from or distorts their perceptions of their fellow humans.

We have got to STOP. We have got to reconnect to our hearts and to our own innocence. We have got to ask ourselves some deeper questions. It’s high time we reflect on what we want to imprint our children with. Who do we want them to become? What do we want humanity to become?

This is beyond being right or wrong. These are children that we are talking about. We are conditioning them with the same propaganda that we were conditioned with and worse. They deserve more than that!

Consider every word you say, every activity you offer and every belief that you hold. Is that what you want for the future of your child? Is it where you want humanity to go? Please do not let systems, governments and least of all your own limitations condemn your children to a life that is completely unworthy of their brilliance.

Each new generation offers the potential for more advanced children to be born and express on this beautiful planet. Many of them have had enough of our past limitations. Let’s make it as easy as possible on them and feed them an information diet of love, understanding, encouragement. Let’s be curious about what they know instead of simply trying to enforce what we believe to be true. With this as our new focus, we may need to make some tough choices about what we allow others to teach our children and thus where they spend their time.

A conscious parent wants their children to express as fully as possible. I am done watching innocence turn to numbness as children are told what to believe instead of being asked what they know is possible. Our children, just like us, are here to contribute. They are not on this planet to be indoctrinated into what they can, should or will contribute. They came with uniqueness, inspiration and an innate capacity to evolve beyond what has been before. Give them the chance to express that!