Children are the same all over the world. I met a 3-year-old girl this summer in Guadalajara. She lived with several family members in a one-room, dark home equipped with a TV, one large bed, a dresser, a makeshift table for eating, a basic kitchen, and a seatless toilet behind the curtain to flush with a bucket of water. We spoke for a while until we came to a common topic among 3-year-old girls worldwide– Elsa and Anna (from Frozen). Her eyes lit up! The similarities between her and the girls I teach in my preschool who have their own rooms in huge houses, and several princess dresses to wear to their preschool, gymnastics, or other activities -all summed up in a common bond and link around the world- Elsa and Anna.
The little girl from Guadalajara and I played peek-a-boo and hide and seek and she, like all the typical little ones thinks she is hiding when she is mostly in plain view. As the teacher came out in me, we wrote the first letter of her name with a stick in the dirt. “Do you have any books?” I ask her Mother. She lit up and said yes! and she looked through the one tiny cupboard with maybe 5 books total, the bible and a couple of others until she found a Cinderella board book (dirty and split in half). She handed it to me happily. We read the Cinderella book together and the little girl from Guadalajara fixated on the page where the stepsisters were tearing Cinderella’s ball dress. All children tend to be in awe of certain pages and images for some reason that adults can’t appreciate.

As a teacher, I couldn’t help myself and headed to the local bookstore. I bought her a Frozen book and another more educational book appropriate for her age. Her Mother was appreciative with sparkly eyes and a big smile and when I gave the little girl the plastic bag with books inside- she was so happy she actually cried. I don’t think anyone was able to read the book to her after I left, but I’m she sure enjoyed the pictures.
Children today… are the same as children across time. Children are the same all over the world and always have been! Possibly smarter though. They need to be ready for a world that we cannot even imagine. But that is the same for children – they are always entering a world unimaginable to their parents and grandparents. But as children, they are running, playing hide and seek, peek-a-boo, and learning the same way children learn everywhere in their own cultures and languages. But with the power of social media, Elsa and Anna, have somehow crossed the cultural boundaries for this little girl and I’m sure many more worldwide. I could go on, about how the princess characters as role models are affecting all the girls, and boys ….another blog for another day!