Mark Woods: Family Matters

As ever though, in the parenting maze there is no panacea and it’s hard to avoid the feeling that constant praise really can lead to the creation of brittle children fed a diet of the world being their oyster only to find out later that oysters are very expensive indeed.

I’m often privileged to be able to visit parts of the world where children have considerably less than our own do here in the UK and what strikes me is just how resilient, resourceful and regenerative even the youngest of youngsters are when the situation dictates

No matter how utterly dire the circumstances in which they find themselves for instance there isn’t a country where you won’t find children flying kites constructed out of whatever they can find lying around

The appeal of the freedom a kite brings is easy to see for children who are often in danger or the grip of grinding poverty. When looking around you isn’t pretty, looking to the skies is a blessed relief and no matter what the culture or continent, kids everywhere take to the skies with whatever they can muster.

Last week I was in Tacloban, the Philippine city devastated by last November’s super typhoon and sure enough the plastic bag kites were flying. These were children who’d been through a five-hour ordeal so terrifying it left many of them clinging to power lines and coconut tree palms as the storm surge water rose metre upon metre. And yet, just three months after these beautiful boys and girls are already beginning to recover.

When a rain storm arrived on my second day in the city you could see the trepidation and recollection in their young eyes – but they are resilient. They already know the harshness and brutality which life can dish out, perhaps more so than most of us ever will our entire lives, but, like all children, they are programmed to survive and thrive no matter what.