Innocence & Childhood

4/21/2020

Last year a few of us had a great discussion about what defines innocence and childhood. We came to the conclusion that everyone’s opinion differs widely. Not everyone got a chance to participate in the discussion so I thought I would bring it back and give everyone a chance to express their opinion. What is the definition of innocence? What makes up a childhood and does everyone have one? Is there anything that we collectively do as a society to maintain the idea of innocence and childhood longer? Is there more than one type of innocence? My final questions are when did you lose your innocence and childhood or do you think you are still living in it?
Personally a lot of the experiences that I had in my childhood made me who I am today. If I had not had a lot of the things happen to me or my family that I did I think I would be a very different person. I might be more outgoing or less understanding of people etc. I believe that we are a collection of our experiences. I believe that my childhood and certain innocences ended a while back due to those same personal experiences.

Kately

4/24/2020 05:18:02 pm

Innocence is the absence of experience and cynicism. Childhood is a time of exploration by trial and error, where children are able to learn about themselves and their environment without bias. It’s lost the moment they see how terrible the world can be, which might be sooner for other people. Childhood innocence is different from adolescent innocence. Adolescents understand that the world can be dangerous, but they lack the experience of an adult who has fended for themselves. I have lost my childhood innocence, but I am still naive to the harsher parts of life. I suppose that will come when entering college.

Faith

4/26/2020 03:04:53 pm

I think you made a really good point about a child’s innocence and an adolescents innocence. They can be very different from one another in many ways and I think we will soon all face trails that will contribute to our growth and character after high school.

Paige

4/26/2020 03:10:04 pm

I like how you addressed childhood and adolescent innocence and how it varies. I had not thought of the differences between these two but it makes sense you do not fully lose your innocence until you are on your own and have to learn how to live without your parents.

Brax Kauffman

4/26/2020 05:11:41 pm

Do you think there are specific actions that will automatically take a childhood away or does it depend on the person.

Paige Hilton

4/26/2020 09:39:10 am

I believe innocence takes on many meanings. These meanings depend greatly on circumstance, children lose their innocence when they become accountable for their actions. Once they realize the consequence that comes from each choice they make, they are no longer innocent. Some individuals never lose their innocence, those who are mentally impaired do not lose their innocence as they cannot grasp reality the same as those without disabilities.
I feel I lost my innocence when I was very young. It wasn't hard for me to understand the difference from right and wrong and good and bad. I remember one time when I took a cookie my mom had saved for my sister. My mom was upset and asked who took the cookie and when she confronted me I told her I didn't do it and that it was probably my brother because he likes cookies. From this experience, I know that I was not innocent in this situation, I knew what I was doing.
As far as childhood goes, I believe everyone has a childhood, it is just filled with differing experiences; there is no such thing as a normal life or a normal childhood. I do not know how long childhood lasts, but I feel it has a lot to do with how long you are treated like a child and how long you act like a child.

Faith

4/26/2020 03:06:00 pm

Innocence really does take on very different meanings. There really is no “normal” for anything, especially our own personal growth.

Tori Weir

4/26/2020 03:36:27 pm

I liked that you mentioned how some people never lose their childlike innocence because I had not realized that there are people who still have it. It makes sense because they are not aware of it but they can still experience difficult situations.

Faith

4/26/2020 03:03:01 pm

I remember from the last time we talked about this topic, I still think the idea that innocence is lost when someone goes through a traumatic experience. Whether it is big or small. The actual definition of childhood is simply: being a child. But, a childhood could mean much more than this. Ones childhood shapes them into the person they will become as an adult. Not everyone gets the childhood they should have, and are put into tough situations, changing them completely.
My childhood was not the best, I had a mentally/verbally abusive adult in my life. I believe my loss of innocence began when I realized that this person was in the wrong, but there was nothing I could do to help myself because I was just a child. I did have to be around this person up until I was 16 which completely shaped me as the person I am today. Instead of dwelling on the things that happened and victimizing myself, I made it my goal to always be kind to everyone and to be a better person than before.
In a way, traumatic events can either help build a strong healthy character or worsen ones character. Although these negative events should be avoided, it really can change your whole perspective on life and every aspect in it. But, this does mean losing some small part of innocence in yourself that you can’t get back. Maybe part of your childhood is losing innocence, and is something everyone goes through.

Paige

4/26/2020 03:07:51 pm

I like how you noted that a childhood is different from being a child. It is good that your experience helped you become a better person and you learned the importance of being kind to those around you.

Ezra

4/26/2020 03:12:08 pm

I agree that traumatic experiences can pull someone out of their innocence.

Alyssa Farnworth

4/26/2020 04:19:58 pm

I completely agree with traumatic experiences and people in your life being able to change the person you are and the way you grow up. There were quite a few people in my life that have affected who I am. I have also made conscious decisions not to be like them. I love that it has made you a better more kind person. I believe that we all can grow from adversity.

Madicyn

4/26/2020 04:49:55 pm

Your statement about how an event in ones life can make them who they are, better or worse, reminded me of a conversation I had with my mom about psychology and how people take everything different.
She told me how these two brothers grew up with an alcoholic father, one of them grew up to be an alcoholic and the other grew up to not have the addiction, when asked why to both of them, they both said " I watched my father". As individuals, they both had the choice to make their decision how they did. Kind of interesting.

Ezra

4/26/2020 03:11:04 pm

I think that innocence is when you don't really now what is happening in life, and go along with what your parents and teachers tell you. I believe everyone has a childhood no matter how small they do have one. I think that parents keep children in the dark about what is happening in the world, and keep some topics away from children until they are ready. Yes I believe that there is more than one type of innocence. I don't think that I am in my innocence but I can not recall when I left my innocence behind, it just gradually happened over time.

Tori Weir

4/26/2020 03:22:52 pm

I like that you mentioned how parents keep their children away from the bad things that are happening in the world. I think it is smart that some parents are taking the responsibility of what to share to their children. When do you think children are ready to know what is really going on with the world?

Madicyn

4/26/2020 04:52:20 pm

It is good that parents keep things away from their children, to an extent. Some overly protect them, and when the children come in contact with hard situations, they don't know how to react in a good fashion. I'm personally grateful for the things I've been through, because they taught me meaningful lessons and made me who I am.

Brax Kauffman

4/26/2020 05:10:06 pm

When do you think your childhood came to an end? Or is there always some left over?

Aiden

4/26/2020 07:31:32 pm

Innocence certainly is partially just believing things were told and not even thinking about bad things.

Tori Weir

4/26/2020 03:17:33 pm

Innocence is applied to different meanings when people use them. For example, people use it in court cases whether the person committed a crime or not, in children, and how much experience a person would have in something. In relation to children, innocence is children's simplicity, their lack of knowledge, and their purity. A child can lose their innocence in many ways, but it is when they realize the world is not how they thought it is. Innocence in children can make them look at the world being good and nothing wrong with it, but when they learn more and become aware, their view changes.
As for childhood, I believe everyone has one because everyone was once a child and have memories then whether they were good or bad. Childhood is important to children because it is the beginning of where they start and develop their personality and how they will deal with certain situations.
I lost my innocence as a child when I was really young. It was when my grandfather died when I became aware of everything. Even though I was never close to my grandfather, he was the last grandparent I had and when I saw other kids with their grandparents it made me change my perspective on the world. Before that, I experienced other funerals and family members being in trouble but it never really changed my view as a child. I do feel I have innocence in certain aspects of life, such as being truly on my own and figuring things out in the future. For childhood, I am not sure when I grew out of it but I think it was when I realized that I am not a child and became more mature.

Erykah

4/26/2020 07:32:21 pm

It's difficult losing a grandparent. I lost my grandfather last summer, and it was a tough time for my family. I see innocence differently because although I have experienced many things that have matured me, I believe that I still have innocence.

Madicyn

4/26/2020 04:24:53 pm

I believe innocence is a very hard idea to explain. Partially, I believe that it is an emotional and mental part of us, that can be lost, when one comes into contact with the terrible things in our world. Which can change their life completely, and ruin their innocence. On another hand, do people always have to lose their innocence as they grow older? Many people classify losing ones virginity, as "losing their innocence. Is this correct?

Every person's childhood is different, even children who grow up with their siblings will have different views that bring out how they interpret their childhood experiences. My sisters and I have all been through the same situations, but they were different for each of us, and we all learned different morals and lessons from them. Childhood is a also a hard thing to just describe and move on, because every one's is different. Some are longer, shorter, easier, more difficult, etc. For many, I think when they begin to understand the things going on around them, or they have to take on big responsibilities at a young age, their childhood can be considered over.

I think my childhood ended when I began having huge responsibilities at a young age. It didn't necessarily come to a complete halt when I was going through what I was, but as time went on and my understanding of the situations and the real world began to broaden, things changed. I had changed, and that was okay. I don't think my childhood and innocence was stolen from me, at moments in time it would still be there, but in others I wasn't able to be a carefree kid.

Alyssa Farnworth

4/26/2020 05:28:21 pm

My siblings and I also went through a lot together and I would agree that it also changed each of us in a different way. I hadn’t really thought about losing ones virginity as an innocence but maybe in a way it is? I’d have to agree with your description of ending or evolving in childhood. Mine was the same.

Brax Kauffman

4/26/2020 05:08:43 pm

Last year we talked about this for an externally long time. I know I was a large part of the discussion but as of now, I could not tell you what classifies a persons innocence or childhood. Innocent is associated with purity, but does that mean purity through lack of knowledge or choosing it. I had so much to say about it last year. Both innocence and childhood, but I honestly cannot tell you when I think someone loses their own. I hope that everyone can always retain some of their own childhood and innocence through their lives. I wish I had more to say on this topic but I just don’t know what I think.

Aiden

4/26/2020 07:29:08 pm

I agree with you that I think people retain innocence all the way through their lives and never have to experience bad things in life.

Andy Gebhardt

4/26/2020 07:42:36 pm

It was a long conversation last year. That is an interesting take on purity and knowledge though. Why do you think knowledge has such a big role? Do you think that applies to innocence and childhood?

Erykah Foss

4/26/2020 07:24:14 pm

Innocence is one’s purity from the corruptions of life. When we are young, we are innocent-- a blank slate waiting for experiences to mold and shape our thoughts of each other and the world. As we grow older, we learn things about living, such as love, hate, life, and death, that make us lose our innocence. Innocence can also be lack of other life experiences, like living independently and working at a job. I believe that everyone has a childhood and that innocence is the essence of childhood, meaning childhood is made up of innocence. I do not think someone could immediately lose their innocence. It takes time to experience the wonders and horrors of the world, and childhood gradually goes away as one matures and sees more of what life consists of.

I think I’m still living in my childhood. Of course, I have experienced some things that have matured me and changed my view of the world, but there is so much more to life that I have not yet encountered, such as living on my own and paying my own bills. I still have a lot to learn about myself and the world before I would consider myself an adult.

Sabrina

4/26/2020 07:40:18 pm

I know I'm getting a little off topic, but at what stage are you an adult? Is that after you've lost your innocence, or somewhere in the grey?

Andy Gebhardt

4/26/2020 07:40:18 pm

I agree that it is gradual because you start to learn more about how the world works. Do you think there is any circumstance where someone could lose their innocence immediately?

Kately

4/29/2020 04:14:50 am

I suppose one never really becomes an adult until they fully fend for themselves. Do you feel that the loss of your innocence has made you stronger in some way?

Aiden

4/26/2020 07:26:41 pm

I believe innocence isn’t just lost one moment. We can be naive to the things of the world and understanding we are may be a time that we lose our innocence pertaining to that topic. Such as death. As a child we never think of the idea and we never worry about it until a loved one dies or is harmed. We then lose our innocence and naivety. We could be informed of most of the bad things that can happen in life or something not even necessarily bad we just don’t have a knowledge of it, and be innocent to other topics. We never truly lose all innocence as one can’t learn all things. We could lose innocence when we learn of sex, death, or heartbreak but never lose total innocence.

Erykah

4/26/2020 07:38:45 pm

I like your idea of one never truly losing their innocence. It makes sense; there are too many things in this world that it is impossible for one person to experience it all. Do you believe innocence only pertains to feelings or emotions? Or does it also pertain to life experiences, such as becoming bankrupt?

Andy Gebhardt

4/26/2020 07:33:46 pm

The discussion of innocence we had last year was a very good discussion. Because everyone’s view of innocence differed so much it was hard to talk about. However, I believe innocence is lost when you start understanding the good and bad of the world. As a young kid you partially understand this but you do not understand why the world is like that. I think that when children start to understand hate, love, deception, and lies is when they lose their innocence. When you understand those ideas, you cannot see the world the same again because you don’t know someone’s true motive. Personally, I think for most people there is not an exact time for this to happen because everyone has different life experiences and some mature faster than others. I do not know when I lost my innocence and childhood because I think it was a gradual thing. Any way it happens though, a person’s view on the work is always different.

Sabrina

4/26/2020 07:36:52 pm

From your post, it looks like you define innocence as a change in the way you view the world. Does everyone start with the same outlook as a child?

Sabrina

4/26/2020 07:35:16 pm

At the end of the discussion mentioned, I think I understood less about the topic than when we started. This is a very hard conversation to have because it is such a broad idea. The first definition that came to mind when trying to understand innocence is loosely when a child is pure and does not have or understand evil intentions. They are oblivious to the bigger picture and often lose it when something tragic happens, or just gradually as they grow up. I would first like to point out that while innocence is largely thought of as bad, it isn't. It is a part of maturing and growing up. There is a difference between losing innocence and going through an experience that causes trauma. I also don't think innocence happens as late as we think it does. When a child is two years old, it wants to touch the stove and doesn't understand why it can't. When it learns why, its loses some innocence. That is how I see it. It starts much earlier than we think and probably ends much later.

Kately

4/29/2020 04:19:24 am

I find children fascinating because of this, it’s almost refreshing to see them experience the world the same way we did when we were first starting out. This is a bit of an odd comparison, but I like to think that it’s like playing a new game. We started a game we didn’t know the rules to, and so people who were experienced taught us the fundamental rules. As an elder sibling or a parent, you do this for the next. It’s like the tutorial stage!

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