Childhood is a tricky thing. And innocence is damn near impossible.

If you are lucky, then the transition from childhood is a slow, gradual process. Its like growing taller- you don't really feel it but you see the results of it. Its never painless, but if you are lucky it can't really be described as painful. And if you are really lucky, then you go from childhood to adolescent/adult with your innocence still intact. Some people make it well into adult hood maintaining their untouched, unblemished out look on life. On the world. If you are lucky, you can reach middle age and never really have to look at the ugliness/pain/horror that exists around you. It is possible to live being basically untouched.

However, if you are in the unlucky group (the majority of people it seems these days), then there is a distinct moment when childhood ends. You can mark the end of your child days and innocence as exactly as you mark an appointment on the calendar. There is a specific event that shatters that fragile barrier that separates the innocent from the knowing. There is a catalyst that propels you from child to not so child in no time at all. Sometimes this moment occurs unexpectedly, surprinsing you and shocking you into maturity. And sometimes it creeps slowly toward you and you can mark its approach without a way to keep it at bay.

And as tragic as that sudden shift from childhood is, the greater tragedy is that we stand there watching it happen and do nothing. Our society at large remains terribly unprepared to deal with the population of children who are being handed adulthood much too soon. We see it happening and are scared by it, but few really step in to try and temper some of the affect. Most of us feel so incapable of dealing with our adulthood, we can't fathom trying to help someone else navigate theirs.

So what happens? We have mere children negotiating adult situations on their own. We have adolescents working through emotions and feelings that they haven't yet developed the capacity to understand much less live with. And we have them doing this mostly on their own.

No wonder they shut down. No wonder they paint their nails black and dye their hair odd colors. No wonder they pierce everything known to man or scar themselves with blades. No wonder we have eating disorders, drug addictions, teenage alcoholics, and high school mothers.

We watch the world/life/fate hand mere children some of life's toughest situations and we sit back and observe from a safe distance to see how they will handle it. How they will deal with the emotions. What the will do with the cards dealt to them.

Instead of stepping in and helping absorb all the emotions they feel, we hide from it so we can remained untouched. Rather than owning up to the ugly truth and having honest, authentic communication about what has happened with children, we avoid talking about it and act as if we don't acknowledge it then it hasn't really happened. Instead of modeling mature coping behaviors, we hide in our closets so they don't see us cry. We'd rather run from the questions, than to admit to them that sometimes we honestly don't know the answers.

No wonder they act out. No wonder they turn to drugs, T.V., food, sex, exercise, academics, sports...whatever. They have all this knowledge and emotion that they can't comprehend and are utterly unprepared to deal with, and they have to put it somehwere. Especially since we aren't giving them any better options.

Who among us would sit back and watch a three year old walk towards a blazing fire and do nothing? How many of us would walk past a flooding school and not stop to help get the kids out? Its unheard of to witness a wreck and not dial 911. When tradegy happens, we are trained to act. Its ingrained in us to protect those who can't protect themselves. To help those who are at the moment helpless. We have been told our entire lives how to handle those situations. But when situations occur that there is no handbook for, we shirk back and decide its better not to help. We refuse to take any steps unless we are given them in a clear cut step 1, 2, 3 process.

The things that throw children into the messy ocean of adulthood are just as real and dangerous as fires and flood. Yet we ignore them because we can't actually see the danger, or because we are afraid we won't know precisely what to do. So we leave them out there to learn by the sink or swim method, instead of showing them how to float, paddle, or hold their breath. And we wonder why so many of them seem to be drowning? Suffocating? Being pulled under currents or knocked around by waves?

What will it take for enough to be enough? How many bodies will be piled up before we decide to step in, intervene, absorb some of the shocking blow?

How much more will we allow children, who are sadly no longer children, endure before we step in and beside them to help them along- even when we ourselves aren't sure of the way?