As we greet the new royal child, let’s think about how we can protect ALL the children of the world. This little potential future queen—as well as our two American princesses—will never face hunger, homelessness, exploitation, or death by diseases that are virtually unknown in most of the world. They won’t have to work long hours in the field before even their tenth birthday to help support their families. For a certainty, they will have the opportunity for a first-rate education and be able to pass on their good fortune to their own children.
Not all babies are born into that world. Many, many face abject poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy. Those who do survive to have families of their own will pass those conditions on to their children as their only possible legacy.
Those of us who are in a position to do something about the futures of these children must actually do something. If we have the means, we can donate funds to organizations, here and abroad, that fight poverty, feed the hungry, and educate all the children. We can volunteer as baby-rockers in at-risk hospital nurseries; aides for teachers of limited-English-speaking classes; tutors for underachieving students or those locked away at Juvenile Hall. We can visit a museum, art gallery, zoo, tech museum, or the like, taking with us a child of parents struggling to find jobs or working several jobs to meet the bills. We can invite a latch-key child to help make a double batch of cookies or casserole, and send half of it home with the young cook to show off to the family. We can do…a million little things that will make a difference in a young life, things that will make a lasting impression, build his or her self-esteem, teach a concept or a skill, and, therefore, provide a step toward a better life than the child might have had.
After all, isn’t each child a royal child?