It used to be assumed that adults owed it to children to protect them from harm before birth and after, to remove foreseeable obstacles from their lives and give them time to mature before they had to face adult dangers. Now, babies die of AIDS in urban hospitals, one infant in every ten is born suffering from cocaine exposure, one child in five lives in poverty and countless numbers of adolescents are turned off by poor schools, pressured into gangs or caught in the webs of crack. "Just say no" is thin armament indeed for the hazards of urban jungles.
The truth is that we are redefining children and childhood to fit adult needs and conveniences and to take a minimum of adult time and attention.