Children are the Future: Give Them Timeless Skills

Did you read the New York Times op-ed by Ross Douthat, entitled “Age of Extinction is Coming. Here’s How to Survive,” published on April 19, 2025?

Douthat focuses on the dark side of our technological age and the loss of our human attention and American middle-class institutions. He says:

 “The new era is killing us softly, by drawing people out of the real and into the virtual, distracting us from the activities that sustain ordinary life, and finally making existence at a human scale seem obsolete...The digital age takes embodied things and offers virtual substitutes, moving entire realms of human interaction and engagement from the physical marketplace to the computer screen…the power of substitution and distraction feeds a sense that real-world life is fundamentally obsolete…when the necessary thing is to go out into reality and do.”

 I started the CIFA [pronounced: see far!] because I was feeling the way Douthat is now.

At that time, cell phones were new. Smartphones and apps had just come out. I was using them, and all the children I knew were too. Of course, we tried to limit our usage, but they were so shiny and exciting that it was difficult. Little did we know how the world would change. But I had a sense, a deep awareness that it would not be good.

I was doing a lot of personal reflection and soul-searching. I was seeking to do something where I could give back to the world, help things be better, support young people, and make a significant difference to help balance life in relation to technology. I had the vision for the CIFA, which brought it all together for me because learning to sew has been useful to me in so many ways. I knew children would also find joy and interest in it.

My interpretation of what Douthat writes is that we must teach our children to sew!

Don’t just sit there, sew something, or knit or crochet, or maybe make some knots or lace.

Children want and need to work with their hands! They want independence, and we should want that for them as well! We can help them gain skills, independent thinking, and self-sufficiency if we give them the opportunity to do so and teach them well.

Giving the kids the skills and resources to become independent is key. They need encouragement and stick-to-it-iveness!

Children say, “I can’t thread the needle. It’s too small!”

I show them. “Trim the fuzz off. And get it wet with your mouth— it’s ok.”

And they hold it close to the tip of the thread.

“Hold the needle steady, and aim. Try again.”

“But it’s hard!” they say.

I say, “You can do it! Just try.”

And they do, and they get it.

And then they exclaim, “I got it!”

“Yes, I knew you could.”

These small lessons are important. They build self-esteem. And the child knows something more about the world, something useful. But also something deep about themselves—that they are capable. They don’t have to be coddled or distracted. They can do something they think is difficult if they try. Then, they can learn something else, add all those things together, and learn to love to learn and begin to love to work with their hands.

We can choose to move in the direction of losing our attention, focus, and stamina, or we can keep creating and managing as we have done. The key is with the children. We must teach them and guide them. We cannot let our bad habits become theirs. Is that possible?

Perhaps.

Pope Francis said, “The Gospel offers us a serene way forward: using the three languages of the mind, heart, and hands - and to use them in harmony. What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart, and you put it into practice. Harmoniously. What you think, you feel, and you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. Do what you think and what you feel. The three languages: to think, to feel, to do. And all in harmony."

Please give to the CIFA. We are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization serving children in New York City. Your donations will help us teach more children by subsidizing schools that cannot afford us and our stand-alone programs.

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