Over recent years, I've found that relying on life experience, critical thinking and instinct has served me well. I feel I can now think on so many levels than before. Children have this in abundance which we need to learn from. But too much academic learning at an early age often means they leave school with their critical thinking abilities seriously impaired by a system designed to turn out compliant robots.
I'm sure most parents can recall big or important events and fond memories of their children growing up. My most vivid memories are the funny ones.
These are true stories.
In 1998, my son at the age of 5 was knocked down by a car. He broke his femur bone but had no other injuries.
He had just weeks earlier started school. His teacher at the time described him as 'chatterbox' but an intelligent one.
Yet, following the accident, for 6 weeks his leg had to remain in traction in hospital. My wife and I had to spend alternative nights sleeping there beside him.
When it was my turn, after my wife went home, I recall my son shared my love of the Simpsons and Bruce Lee movies, which we watched on TV in the evening.
Due to the time he was in hospital, he was assigned a personal tutor.
Generally, he responded well to probably what was better teaching than he would receive in his class of 30.
But I will never forget one scene in the hospital. My family were all there, including my 3-year old younger son, who permanently wore a Fireman Sam outfit with the helmet.
That day the teacher told my son off for being a chatterbox. She turned her back for a moment and my son took his willy out of his pants and waved it around in defiance. Not appropriate behaviour for this day and age, but he was just 5, it was over 20 years ago - and the teacher didn't see it.
Watching this scene and of Fireman Sam bursting into hysterical fits of laughter remains with me to this day.
Another funny memory was not long after when he was back home. I used to spend a lot of time watching films with my older son. I remember we sat together for 90 minutes watching the cartoon type version of 'Hercules'. We were both engrossed throughout.
As the credits rolled, he turned me yawning and said "Dad, what the hell was that all about?"
That same Christmas my mum recalls saying to him, "What do you think Father Christmas will bring you this year"? He turned to her with a look of amazement and said "I'm sorry to tell you Nanna, but Father Christmas doesn't exist"
At 10, my younger son wanted to play football. He was very tall and quite big for his age and a little clumsy but loved to play sports.
Anyway, I signed him up to Saturday football. With all the smaller, fast and nimble footballers on the field, he rarely saw sight of the ball. The other kids gave him a hard time but he never complained or retaliated.
But the best and most comical moment was when one Saturday the ball was amazingly passed to him. He took it with skill.
He was immediately surrounded by about 3 or 4 of the nimble kids who like skittles at the same moment, fell in a heap, claiming a foul. There was some contact, but not much. My son scored and the goal stood.
I'm so proud that for his perseverance against these smaller bullies, he won 'most improved footballer of the year award'. He could easily have given up.
Just recently I've been picking up my 13-year niece from school. She has an amazing, enquiring mind but is clearly bored with school.
So, I try and draw out her strengths and every day I'd explain the meaning of a new word or provide some wisdom. For example, recently I explained to her what the word 'discerning' meant and the importance of keeping an open mind.
The other day I explained about the word 'incentive'. I explained it as positively as I could and in terms of well-earned bonuses I received at work. Her response "Uncle Kevin, that rather sounds like bribery."
My elder niece now has children of her own, but I still regard her from the same generation. Her message to her children is if the school try to jab them with Covid-19 vaccine to refuse and 'punch the lights out' of anyone approaching with a needle.
I'm sure many readers will relate to the above stories.
Parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents will always relate to the funny, innocent and incredible insight and resolve of their young relatives.
Our children are special. Right now, there are things we should learn from them. But it's also our responsibility to wake up and think how we can shield them from the on-going madness.
I read a quote somewhere that children are so bright because they have not yet learnt. That is so true and why we need to protect them in these times.
To some extent, many children are shielded by their parents from the fallout of Covid-19 and lockdowns.
Yet children aren't being shielded enough from the general madness being inflicted on us all. The madness that affects them directly such as the fear of passing Covid-19 to granny, mask-wearing and school closures. Mental health concerns all of a sudden swept aside during lockdowns.
Most children have spent much of the last year home schooling, away from that all important social interaction, vital for their development. Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are going through the roof.
As we've all discussed here, adults in general have retreated into a shell. They've stopped thinking, and when I venture out on to the streets of suburbia, they resemble a kind of zombie-land.
Ivor Cummins summed it up well in several interviews when asked why he continues his fight to bring out the truth about Covid-19. He gave two reasons. One, the fight for science. But first and foremost, to protect the future of his 5 children.
So, what can we take from the memories described above and similar experiences all parents have of their children? And positively apply these to life now to fight the reset agenda? Perhaps quite a bit.
Learning From Our Children
Be skeptical and question everything.
Like my 5-year old son, raising grave doubts about Father Christmas and my niece's insightful interpretation, as adults we need to raise our game. In a way, Covid-19 is like Father Christmas. Yes, contrary to my son's skepticism, he may exist, but he's not a big threat to young children.
But seriously, history is littered with examples of where being lazy and complacent in our thinking ends badly.
Be a bit rebellious and draw your red line.
I don't suggest waving one's willy around the place or to punch anyone's lights out, although it might come to that one day. But there are various ways of making a stand My red line is when they make masks mandatory outdoors. For now, I'll go along with indoor wearing pointless masks in shops as for certain personal reasons, it's just not worth the bother. Find your red line and fight tooth and nail when it's breached.
Always stand up to bullies.
This is something I learned, too late in life.
My older niece is an example of someone who won't compromise on her core beliefs. Perhaps this a result of having a more difficult childhood. Nevertheless, we should instill values in our children to fight for our beliefs on the main matters.
The imminent threat is one of tyranny with the Great Reset which threatens all our futures. There are various ways of standing up to bullying, as my younger son discovered.
He fought from within and become a better person by participating and refusing to be side-lined.
In terms of modern-day challenges, adults are often forced to take on a more outside activist role. Either way, history always rewards those who resolve to remain independent and determined. Such people will determine our future rather than those who simply follow the crowd.
Instinct, creativity and education.
Over recent years, I've found that relying on life experience, critical thinking and instinct has served me well. I feel I can now think on so many levels than before.
Children have this in abundance which we need to learn from. But too much academic learning at an early age often means they leave school with their critical thinking abilities seriously impaired by a system designed to turn out compliant robots.
Occasionally when I'm stuck with a problem or idea, I ask my young niece what she would do. More often than not she comes back with an instant solution or a great idea, something I'd never thought of.
Parents need to balance the value of qualifications against drawing out their natural strengths to produce well rounded, creative children with a good overall understanding of the core subjects and life.
This is possibly a good example of the creative approach my young relatives then or a child now might take to solving a problem. This is an exchange of readers on the site 'Off Guardian' recently. The replies put the entire onus on an employer proposing a ridiculous request of their employees, and in my experience is an effective strategy.
Above all, we need to put concern about our kids as our top priority. Although this is obvious, I think in the present climate of fear our priorities have not always focused on this. So, it's about creating a new sense of self-awareness.
I suppose at this stage we can only protect our children if we learn a few lessons from them. And wake up to the potential nightmare which threatens their future.
One lesson I learned, and everyone will have experienced, is being in a bad situation and wondering how you will recover. My son being in the hospital took me down that road. Yet 6 weeks later, he was better, and I now have nothing but lovely memories of that time. Things usually get better if you take things one day at a time.
But we must not be complacent. Major life-changing events, wars, etc., always happen in a lifetime. We can't assume we can permanently carry on as usual as there's always a threat to deal with.
To fight we have to realize that we are in a fight and that's the challenge right now. Realization of the reset agenda is the first goal. Then the fight starts and we have tools at our disposal.
And during these times, we need to draw upon the type of memories of children as I've mentioned.
Innocence, honesty, being inquisitive, humour, rebelliousness, determination and creative thinking. All things if you look at in your children today, or in the memories of the past, you will find in plentiful supply. We need to defend these things like mad to deal with all the imminent challenges now facing us.
A funny memory of mine:
As kids my brother and I had a discussion about the unreality of Santa Claus and decided to still pretend to believe because we were concerned that if our parents found out that we'd realized the lie they wouldn't give us as many presents. That year they decided to inform us that there is no Santa but instructed us not to tell our little sister and we started laughing and then when they asked why we thought that was funny we explained our reluctance to tell them that we'd already figured out the truth but they assured us we'd get the same amount of presents. Also "funny" how the older we got, the more basic necessities and toiletries we got for Christmas rather than anything we really wanted. Makes sense from a parent's perspective as it cuts down on shopping for the basics for the rest of the year. "Uhh thanks, fluoride toothpaste was the first thing on my wish list?"
One year my dad's new wife got me a tube of natural toothpaste and big bags of almonda and hemp hearts as main presents plus a windup flashlight and though I never used it a cover for hot drinks. Now that was a nice assortment of gifts.