Kids crafting at all costs? I don’t think so!

Just like any crafter, I have very vivid memories that relate to time I spent crafting or learning new crafts when I was a kid and a teen. I remember, and very vividly coloring countless picture book images with my aunts and trying to do like them by outlining the image then shading the inside without going passed those black line (I swear they were moving! I could never manage it!). I can recall as though it was yesterday the day I learned to make friendship bracelets on a beach at a day camp when I was 9. I remember making a beaded bracelet that read “Nick” (for Nick Carter, of the Backstreet Boys, who I was then sure I would marry one day!) surrounded by 2 red hearts, then many more that read the name of whoever was then my friends’ boyfriends¦ usually by the time I finished those they had broken up with them!

When I went to Mexico, we went sight seeing and one place we visited was Chichen Itza, where the big Mayan pyramid you see everywhere can be found. It’s considered one of the modern wonders of the world, and for a good reason¦ It’s simply breathtaking! Once on the site though, you realize just how many Mexicans are out there trying to sell you stuff. Paths are line with people all trying to scream at you so you can stop by and buy something. Many of these things are handcrafted, and we even saw a few men carving masks right behind their little table.

One sight, however, broke my heart. We were on a path, having just visited one of the spots where less grandiose ruins could be found, when we saw a little girl sitting on a rock. She was wearing a traditional Mayan dress, made out of very light white fabric and embellished with embroidered or cross-stitched (I can’t remember which, everyone was wearing them) flowers and motifs. When she saw us approach, she offered to sell us embroidered handkerchief made in the same fabric as her dress. She was breathtakingly cute and pretty¦ and must have been 8 or 9 at the most. She was selling her handkerchief 10 pesos, which isn’t even a full USD1 (the exchange rate is usually 12-13 pesos to a USD).

We visited Chichen Itza on December 30, so we can give her the benefit of the doubt and say she was on Christmas holidays. Somehow, however, I don’t think that’s the case. In fact, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t attend school and spends her day at Chichen Itza either making these handkerchiefs or selling them.

We were completely broke when we went there, so we didn’t buy a handkerchief from her. We asked her to take her picture, and she agreed, though we subsequently lost our camera (or had it stolen from us, more likely), so I can’t even show you how adorable she looked. Her face is forever engraved in my brain though, and I’m even more grateful now for my childhood crafty memories, which are associated with something positive, whereas I’m sure her’s are just associated with something that needed to be done in order to survive.

Kids/Teens crafting is awesome and should be encouraged, but not at all costs. Here’s to hoping all kids can discover crafts at school, along with writing and reading.

Crafty Witch Josée (a.k.a Josée_Madalia)