By Amanda Szulc, Opinion Contributor
“Return to Innocence.”
It is not simply the title of a song by Enigma. It has become a plea — a sober call to reclaim what our culture has allowed to slip away.
As an early childhood educator, I am watching childhood innocence disappear at a pace I never thought possible. Imagination is fading. Dramatic play is nearly gone. The comforting visuals that defined my own upbringing have been replaced by overstimulation, constant noise, and a dependence on screens.
A simple trip to the grocery store reveals the shift: parents and caregivers absorbed in their devices, children handed tablets or phones to stay occupied, and meaningful conversation replaced by digital distraction.
Respect for authority is eroding. Children as young as three now freely use profanity, lash out physically, and mimic behavior that should never be modeled for them.
I can speak from my own experience: the contrast between my childhood in the ’90s and early 2000s and what I see today is both startling and heartbreaking.
Television was a privilege — reserved for Saturday morning cartoons or an after-school show. These programs taught morals, values, and genuine lessons, and they did so without overstimulating us.
Some of my fondest memories are of visiting my aunt’s home in Hickory Hills. My cousin had a Sega Genesis, and playing Sonic the Hedgehog was a rare treat. My aunt’s shelves were filled with classic Disney films — Pete’s Dragon, The Jungle Book, Fantasia, The Parent Trap.
Movies were rewards, not pacifiers. Technology was never the center of our lives.
Imagination, on the other hand, was. Pretend play with my siblings shaped my creativity and influenced my writing and love for storytelling. Books and movies expanded my world. The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings left a lifelong mark on me. These timeless works carry moral clarity, heroism, virtue, and lessons that strengthen a child’s mind and character.
Yet today, I rarely meet a child familiar with these classics — not even by name. Children’s media has traded substance for noise: bright flashing colors, sing-song voices, and repetitive scripts designed to hold attention rather than build character.
The result is unmistakable.
Learning disabilities and behavioral issues are increasing. Manners have deteriorated. Respect for authority is dismissed rather than taught. Elders — once honored — are now treated with indifference or contempt.
The pandemic accelerated a trend already in motion. Isolation pushed many children deeper into social media, where harmful messages framed parents as adversaries and encouraged kids to weaponize psychological terms — “toxic,” “narcissistic,” “gaslighting,” “abuse” — often without understanding them.
These words have been stripped of their seriousness and reduced to tools children use to avoid accountability. Parents, pressured and afraid of being labeled “bad,” now walk on eggshells, attempting to negotiate with toddlers who have learned how to manipulate emotion and language.
This is where a once-reasonable concept — “gentle parenting” — has been distorted. While empathy and connection are essential, many parents have taken the style to an extreme, turning guidance into appeasement and authority into friendship. Discipline, structure, and clear expectations — the cornerstones of raising capable citizens — have taken a back seat.
So we must ask ourselves: How did we allow this cultural shift? And at what cost to our children?
I love teaching. I love helping children discover who they can become. But each day, the joy of the profession fades a little more. Increasingly, I am expected to function as a babysitter, not an educator.
I am corrected for using a firm tone. I am discouraged from holding students to meaningful standards. Early childhood is a foundational stage — a time when children learn respect, boundaries, self-control, and the habits that will shape their academic futures. Without authority in the classroom, that foundation crumbles.
I am tired — tired of bending to trends that undermine learning, tired of offering “options” when clear instructions are needed, tired of watching classroom materials become toys rather than tools.
It is time to return to what works. It is time for school administrators to acknowledge that “gentle parenting” does not translate into a classroom environment. It is time to restore respect for teachers.
And it is time — once again — for parents to be parents.
Children thrive when the adults in their lives provide structure, discipline, and steadfast guidance. Outsourcing that responsibility to educators and then expecting different results is neither fair nor effective.
Our children deserve better. Our culture deserves better.
And restoring childhood innocence begins with restoring the authority, responsibility, and moral clarity that once helped shape the next generation into strong, capable Americans.
