Children should be seen and heard

My wife and I went to Victoria the other day to visit family. Everywhere we stopped, someone would start up a conversation and we’d chat away.

At Mill Bay, a young boy around 10 said: “That’s a nice hat you have on.” I told him: “When I was your age, men wore hats all the time.” The boy replied: “Wearing a hat too much is the reason you lose your hair.”

I thought to myself: The world hasn’t changed that much after all. Even with all their electronic devices, kids still believe the same old wives’ tales we did.

On the way home, we stopped at Qualicum Beach. As I was getting into the car, a little boy about five in the car beside us started a conversation.

I asked him what he liked best about his holiday, and he said paddleboarding with his dad. I asked him if his mom went paddle-boarding. He looked at me quite seriously and replied: “Oh no, mommies don’t paddle-board.”

It was an uplifting day. A world where a five-year-old boy and an 82year-old man can talk and enjoy each other’s company can’t be all that bad.

This is what people who believe children shouldn’t be seen or heard are missing from their lives. Doug Poole Courtenay