Marilyn Benoit, psychiatrist, secretary of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Washington lobbyist for children's causes, was right behind him, putting her own idealism on the line. From there, the group was inspired. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to share their own high aspirations for the best that childhood can offer. A short break followed. Childhood is a time to be loved and to love, to express fear and to learn trust, to be serious, to be calm, and to celebrate with laughter and joy.
Children have the right to dream, and to grow at their own pace.
They have the right to make mistakes and the right to be forgiven. Children have the right to be spared violence and hunger, to have a home and protection, and support for growing up healthy, with good habits and sound nutrition. Children need people to respect, adults whose example and loving authority they follow. They need moments for devotion and space for curiosity, protective boundaries and freedom for creativity, and time to rest, to play, to work. They need to be introduced to a life of principles, and given the freedom to discover their own.