Two full pages of this morning's newspaper were filled with smiling 10-year old faces.  Alongside were their answers to the question: What will life be like in the future?

Some of the answers were funny and optimistic. One boy  predicted his Dad would be president, and he would be vice president. Another said he thought about drones delivering everything. Asked 'what would you have delivered?'  He said -  'Pizza.'  An ocean loving girl would have a floating house, with a slide to go down and a trampoline to go up. There were quite a few thoughtful responses about the environment and kindness.  

Other answers were more complex.  One girl said she thought Mount Rushmore was going to fall down. Because, she said,  'someone's going to bomb it or something.'  A boy said 'They might pay people to go to space because the population is so big there might not be enough room.'   Others predicted: There's bound to be another war.  AI will mostly replace people.  Houses will be made of metal with a lockdown button, so if someone breaks in they will be trapped. 

These are 10 year olds.  Be honest.  At their age what would you have predicted?

As a 10-year old, I lived in England. World War II was raging.  History indicates no-one  asked our opinion on anything.  We were told -  'This is how it is right now.  Things will get back to normal.' Our elders decided filling 10-year old minds with what was happening, and what might happen was too much for undeveloped minds.  

Like most adults, I do worry about our children's futures. Still, acknowledging that awareness is different than fear, I worry we might be emphasizing fear over possibility. There's a quote lurking around my desk from Don Quixote -  it says

"Madness (fear) is seeing things as they are and not as they might be."  

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