No question, children are like sponges and they soak up EVERYTHING.
Which trips me out when I go to my potnas house or a relatives house, and they got some hardcore gangsta shit bumpin and I see little 3,4,5 year olds straight soakin up that negativity. WE are old enough to recognize that shit for what it is, but to kids it is confusing. On one hand parents are trying to teach their children manners and how to talk polite, yet the music they hear is telling them the exact opposite. Kids that young can't differentiate reality like adults can, and that kind of mixed message is what subconsciously plants the seed of moral ambiguity that is in plain view in America and the world today. Since kids are being told every day that "It's all about money", who the fuck has time for morals?
I don't hit up any Boys and Girls clubs, but all the shorties in my neighborhood know me. Sometimes I chill outside playing drums and chanting mantras, and the kids flock to me like birds to bread crumbs. So I let them play the drums and when we talk I drop spiritual jewels on them. They are curious about my beads and the mantras so when they ask me about it I just talk to em like they straight adults. Kids are more intelligent than most adults give them credit for, and they are able to soak up transcendental knowledge very well. This one lady came to my house a few weeks ago to thank me like crazy for getting her son to concentrate on his homework and chill out on the video games. This little cat can't get enough of the philosophy and stories, so I told him if he does good in school and obeys his mama that I will teach him how to play more songs and give him more books. His moms was kinda nervous about a young brotha talking to her son about his soul and God and all that, but the positivity he is exuding is undeniable. We get along real good now.
Kids realize the fleeting and illusory nature of material things, thats why they always getting bored so quick with toys and tv. They are very open to understanding transcendental and spiritual teachings, but the problem is that society is strictly focused on money and sex. Ice Cube summed up the materialist mentality perfectly back in the day on Dopeman.. "life aint nothin but bitches and money".
The reality is that life is much much more than that, but unless kids is shown something different, it is almost impossible to escape the mentality of bling bling and promiscuity. I've indulged in plenty of both, so I know the attraction very well. Bottom line though, shorties just need to be told the truth.
