The worth of kids' opinions....

There's a great entry today on one of the blogs I follow--I.N.K. (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids): http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/2008/09/out-of-mouths-of-babes.html

Susan E. Goodman writes about her timely new book, See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House, and the corresponding KIDS SPEAK OUT! survey on her web site (http://www.susangoodmanbooks.com/). Her post is worth reading purely for the quotes she's collected about kids and their political concerns. She raises a larger question as well when she tells of the reporter who dismissed the survey as a fine way to find out the parents' opinions. Ouch.

It's too true that our society tends to dismiss kids' opinions and ideas--and yet kids often see most clearly right and wrong and injustice and priorities, without worrying about politics or practicality. We grownups could do worse than to listen to kids' opinions.

As a writer for children, I'd like to help kids be heard. Maybe that's why I write children's literature first and foremost. I respect my audience. I think we have to, if we want kids to bother listening to what we have to say.