We are raising today's children in sterile, risk-averse and

Hear now the words of Darell Hammond, who warned with clarity and sorrow: “We are raising today’s children in sterile, risk-averse and highly structured environments. In so doing, we are failing to cultivate artists, pioneers and entrepreneurs, and instead cultivating a generation of children who can follow the rules in organized sports games, sit for hours in front of screens and mark bubbles on standardized tests.” These words are not the musings of idleness, but the cry of one who has looked upon the generations and seen the spirit of adventure dimmed. For in them lies a profound truth: that greatness is born not in safety, but in struggle; not in sterile order, but in the wild soil of risk, curiosity, and imagination.

For consider the essence of childhood. The young are meant to climb, to fall, to build, to break, to wonder and to err. These trials, these freedoms, shape the artist, who dares to see beyond the obvious; the pioneer, who dares to step where no one has stepped before; the entrepreneur, who dares to create what does not yet exist. Yet when children are bound by walls of constant order, when they are taught only to mark bubbles and obey rules, the spark of daring flickers and dies. They learn not to invent, but to conform; not to ask “What if?” but only “What next?”

History bears witness to this truth. Think upon Thomas Edison, who as a boy was restless, curious, often scolded by teachers for asking too many questions. Had he been crushed beneath the weight of standardized learning, the world might never have known the light of his invention. Or consider the Wright brothers, who as children built kites and gliders, risking falls and failures. Their greatness was born of risk, not safety. From their hands came flight, and from their daring came the transformation of the modern world. None of this could have been forged in a sterile and risk-averse childhood.

The origin of Hammond’s words lies in his work with children, building playgrounds through his organization KaBOOM! He saw that modern childhood was shifting from the outdoor field to the indoor screen, from the unstructured adventure to the structured schedule. His lament was not only about play, but about the destiny of society. For a nation that raises its children only to follow rules raises not leaders but followers, not innovators but imitators. To ignore this truth is to surrender the future itself.

And yet, let us not mistake Hammond’s teaching. Rules and structure have their place; discipline and order are not enemies. But when they consume childhood, when they replace freedom entirely, they become chains. Just as the tree grows strongest when battered by winds, so the child grows strong when given space to test, to fail, to rise again. To shield them from all danger is to weaken them; to allow them to face some danger is to prepare them for life. Thus balance, not sterility, is the true path of wisdom.

What then is the lesson for us, O listeners of tomorrow? It is this: do not raise children merely to comply—raise them to create. Give them unstructured time. Allow them to climb trees, to scrape knees, to dream wild dreams. Encourage them not only to mark the correct bubble, but to ask whether the question itself is worth asking. Teach them that failure is not shame but the forge of growth. For in this soil, artists will bloom, pioneers will march, and entrepreneurs will rise.

Therefore let Hammond’s words be remembered not as lament but as command. Free the children from sterility. Give them the playground of earth and sky, the freedom of risk, the canvas of imagination. In so doing, you will raise not only rule-followers, but the visionaries who will shape the world to come. For only in daring can humanity advance, and only in freedom can the soul discover its wings. Raise them not to fear life, but to live it.