Orghidan 1 

Radu Ioan Orghidan 

Ms. Melissa 

English 12 Honors 

7 March 2020

Children can change the world. Can we? 

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” Nelson 

Mandela famously affirmed. From across the political spectrum, broad agreement exists on 

the importance of education in helping society progress. Education is the best investment a 

country can make. After all, well-educated citizens are the greatest wealth it could possibly 

have. Education can take many forms: formal, non-formal, experiential, and emotional. It 

might reasonably be argued that the latter two forms are the most important of all, because 

they shape the fundamental traits needed to succeed and live a happy life, such as the ability 

to connect with people, mindfulness, and the power to learn from one’s own mistakes. 

Nevertheless, it is precisely emotional and experiential education that are most neglected by 

our society today.  

In acquiring these forms of education, childhood experiences and parent-child 

relationships are instrumental. Children spend vast amounts of time with their parents: they 

are a child’s first window to the world. Although the brain remains plastic throughout life, 

early childhood is a period of accelerated brain development (Kolb). Experiences in the 

womb and in the first few years of childhood strongly impact a person’s health and cognitive 

and emotional functions into adulthood and beyond. This is exactly the period when a child 

spends the most time with his parents. Due to this combination of time, timing, and their 

natural position, parents get to shape a person’s perception of the world on an unparalleled 

level. 
 Orghidan 2 

   

To develop, children need healthy relationships with both their parents. They need 

warmth, care, attention and affection. They need their parents to treat them with empathy, 

and with enough severity to understand how to be empathic themselves. The parent-child 

relationship is the first one where they will encounter the notion of “limits.” Children need to 

understand what healthy limits, that protect all the individuals in a relationship, are. They 

need genuine confirmation and praise from both their parents when they get things right, 

and constructive criticism when they don’t, so that they get to view mistakes as opportunities 

to learn. Children need their parents in order to become mindful of their own thoughts and 

emotions as well as those of others, and build confidence and a healthy self-esteem. 

Children need parents to ensure their safety and allow them to make their own way towards 

independence and self-sufficiency through progressive overload. Just as importantly, parents 

represent essential role models for their children. Boys need a good relationship with their 

fathers to develop a strong, secure, and healthy sense of masculinity. The same is true for 

girls and their mothers. Finally, in order to have healthy relationships themselves children 

need to see their parents maintain and develop a respectful, healthy relationships. 

But they don’t get them. Currently, the vast majority of humans develop with 

negative childhood experiences. This phenomenon is present across all social classes, albeit 

poverty is an aggravating factor. One way to quantify these profoundly subjective 

experiences are Adverse Childhood Experiences scores. From 0-10, they measure the 

number of childhood trauma types to which a person was subjected in their childhood, 

where 0 means none, and 10 means the most (“ACEs Science 101”). According to J. Vincent 

Felitti et al. , the authors of the groundbreaking study that created the concept of “ACE,” 

nearly two thirds of US adults (64%) have an ACE score of at least 1; at least a quarter have 
 Orghidan 3 

   

an ACE score larger than 2, and over 15% have an ACE score larger than 4. As is the case for 

self-reported trauma in general, the real percentages may be even higher, because people 

tend to avoid disclosure of their traumatic past. Confronting it is never easy. It is worth 

remembering that this study was conducted on American citizens who had subscribed to a 

health maintenance organization, so they had private health insurance (Felitti et al.). This 

already restricts traumatic factors significantly: the United States is a developed country with 

a relatively high standard of living. Being able to afford private health insurance indicates at 

least a minimal level of financial security. If these comparatively “lucky” respondents 

reported such high rates of ACEs, it is very probable that the rate for America as a whole is 

much greater - as is the one for the entire world, where about 700 million people live in 

extreme poverty, and a plurality of them are under 18 years of age (“Poverty Overview”).  

This matters immensely for a basic, yet vital reason: negative childhood experiences 

have a grievous impact on the development of healthy, happy adults. The enumeration of 

issues which they cause is simply startling. Firstly, adverse childhood experiences give rise to 

immense psychological problems. Trauma subjects the brain to stress, and the juvenile mind 

is especially affected by traumatic stress, as it is still in formation and it lacks the defence 

mechanisms adults develop. This undue burden of stress profoundly transforms the brain 

and even affects which genes are activated or not in an individual, in a process studied by 

epigenetics. The solidly documented scientific explanation of how negative emotions affect 

the individual (especially at its most vulnerable, during childhood) is also doubled by 

millennia of Eastern and traditional medicine, which acknowledge the interdependency 

between the mind (or soul) and the body. It makes no wonder, then, that the harmful effects 

of childhood trauma are so profound and wide-ranging. 

 Orghidan 4 

   

Firstly, they cause psychological issues. People with an ACE of four or above are four 

to twelve times more likely to suffer from depression or attempt to commit suicide than 

those with an ACE of zero (Felitti et al.). They are also more likely to display Dark Triad 

characteristics: narcissism, machiavellism, and psychopathy. Dissociative Identity Disorder is 

another grave condition which is intimately linked to childhood trauma: an individual 

develops multiple different “personas” to dissociate from a reality which has become 

unbearable, with devastating effects for his mental health . A survey of persons suffering 

from DID showed that 99% had also suffered childhood trauma (“Dissociative Identity 

Disorder”). Overall, people who experienced adverse childhood experiences are more likely 

to develop mental illnesses in general. If the trauma is not processed, it is nigh impossible for 

the afflicted individuals to achieve true happiness. 

Secondly, negative childhood experiences cause physical harm. Besides increased 

suicide risk, they are also much more likely to be violent or be victims of violence Women, 

especially, are at a higher risk of autoimmune diseases (“Adverse Childhood Experiences 

(ACEs)”). People affected by childhood trauma are also more likely to break more bones, 

suffer from chronic bronchitis, and obesity (Felitti et al.). They are even at a much higher risk 

than the general population to suffer from cancer (Ports et al.). 

Thirdly, adverse childhood experiences lower the overall quality of life. According to 

Felitti et al, people suffering from them take more drug prescriptions. They have more 

encounters with criminal justice. They are much more likely to be unemployed or skip work. 

They have higher healthcare costs. They are more likely to smoke or drink excessively. They 

are more likely to be addicted to drugs. In nuce, childhood trauma is responsible for most of 

the problems in our society. 

 Orghidan 5 

   

It is obvious that on this foundational level, our education is deeply lacking. It is the 

parents’ duty to protect and help children grow as healthy and happy as possible. But for 

most Americans, and even more people around the world, that is simply not the case. The 

way society manages children’s upbringing is failing on the most primordial level. And 

perhaps, to change that, we need to change the most ingrained aspect of child raising today. 

We need to change the parents. Although the vast majority of parents in the USA and 

around the world are passionately well-intentioned and dedicated to their children’s welfare, 

it is a proven fact that many are inflicting enormous harm on their children, and society at 

large. That is why the world would be a better place if our children were raised by 

professional parents.  

Who would these “professional parents” be, and how would they differ from natural parents? 

A new occupation should be created specifically to raise children. These “professional 

parents” would be persons with strong insight in psychology, and especially paediatric 

psychology. They would accurately understand a children’s developmental needs and be 

able to respond to them considerately and efficiently. Professional parents would gain vast 

knowledge of child rearing from both formal training and, ultimately, experience. It is 

essential that our new parents be psychologically balanced, mentally healthy, mindful 

persons. Therefore, they would be subject to rigorous, periodic psychological testing similar 

to that undertaken by psychotherapists and psychiatrists today. This would ensure that they 

are able to reliably ensure great care and a wonderful upbringing to their children. In 

contrast, the average parent today is likely to suffer from unresolved emotional trauma or 

mental illnesses of his/her own, which dramatically increases the likelihood that they project 

these issues onto their children too, which, as I’ve previously proved, they do. Professional 
 Orghidan 6 

   

parents would also eliminate the existence of children living in poverty. All children would live 

in households with decent incomes guaranteed by taxpayers. This would greatly reduce the 

opportunity gap poverty-stricken children face and make for a more equal society. Moreover, 

as parenting would be a professional choice for this new generation of parents, this proposal 

would guarantee that all the people who act as parents actually desire this position.  

From an implementation standpoint, newborns would be selected by professional 

parents with the help of social workers. They would then raise them until adulthood, and be 

their legal parents in all aspects of life. The vital contribution of professional parents to 

society would be rewarded with a combination of fiscal and monetary benefits such as tax 

exemptions and monthly stipends, which would vary with the number of children. These 

benefits would be indexed to inflation and calculated to slightly exceed the medium financial 

requirements for raising a child. This proposal would be paid for by increased taxation. Any 

couple could enroll in the program to become professional parents. After training, if they 

meet the extensive psychological requirements, they could begin adopting right away. 

  Nevertheless, implementing this proposal would incur some serious drawbacks. For 

one, the government would hold an unprecedented amount of power. Government would 

inevitably take part in defining standards for professional parents, thus entering a previously 

restricted domain: the family. In addition to this, all taxpayers would be forced to pay for the 

nation’s children. The proposal would entail high economic costs. According to Tim Parker, 

the average cost of raising a child in America is around $233,000 (excluding college). 

Seventy-four million people under eighteen (children) live in America today (Table POP1). In 

effect, the government would have to raise money to directly support 22.2% of the country’s 

population (children) and also reward the newly-formed class of professional parents (Table 
 Orghidan 7 

   

POP1). Little of these astronomical sums would be new, as parents already spend that money 

on their children. This proposal would merely redistribute the financial burden to all the 

country’s citizens. The only new costs would be training and rewarding the new class of 

professional parents. Financial benefits should be large enough to properly reward 

professional parents for their service to society, but small enough to deter people who do 

not really love children from going into the field. The most important drawback, however, 

would be convincing the biological parents to“give up” their children. It would take a gigantic 

cultural shift for at least a majority of citizens to support such a program, and some parents 

will never agree to give up their newborn children; the government forcing them to do so 

would constitute a major abuse. Nonetheless, if successful, the social and economic benefits 

of this program would far outweigh the costs. The mental health of the nation would be the 

first to benefit. And the benefits would be more than words can describe. Furthermore, total 

savings from salvaged personal potential, healthcare costs, and added employment would 

probably exceed a trillion dollars, although modestly admitting that there is no way to 

calculate the astronomical impact on the economy is the safest way to describe the resulting 

situation. 

In conclusion, having our children raised by professional parents would tangibly 

change individuals and society at large for the better. By striking at the deeply personal root 

of most of the problems humanity faces, this proposal could make an inimaginable 

difference. The main dilemma is if we humans have the courage to trust such a radical 

change. In the end, it would not produce an utopia. But it might just give birth to a world 

better than anything we have ever imagined.  

 
 Orghidan 8 

   

Works Cited  

“ACEs Science 101.” a​ cestoohigh.com. N

​ .d. ​https://acestoohigh.com/aces-101/​. Accessed 5 

March 2020.  

“Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).” C

​ enter for Disease Control and Prevention​. 2 April 

2019. 

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html

?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Facestud

y%2Findex.html​. Accessed 5 March 2020.  

“Dissociative Identity Disorder.” ​WebMD.​ 22 January 2020. 

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-perso

nality-disorder#4​. Accessed 6 March 2020.  

Felitti, J Vincent et al. “The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.” ​American Journal of 

Preventive Medicine​, vol. 14, no. 4, 1998, pp. 245-258, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8​. Accessed 5 March 2020. 

Kolb, Bryan. “Brain and behavioural plasticity in the developing brain: Neuroscience and 

public policy.” P
​ aediatric and Child Health​, vol. 14, no. 10, 2009, pp. 651-652. 

https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Fpch%2F14.10.651​. Accessed 7 March 2020.  

Parker, Tim. “The Cost of Raising a Child in America.” ​Investopedia​. 20 May 2019. 

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090415/cost-raising-child-a

merica.asp​. Accessed 6 March 2020. 

Ports, A. Katie et al. “Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Presence of Cancer Risk Factors 

in Adulthood: A Scoping Review of the LIterature From 2005 to 2015.” ​Journal of 
 Orghidan 9 

   

Pediatric Nursing​, vol. 44, no. 1, 2019, pp. 81-96. 

http://midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/1901.pdf​. Accessed 7 March 2020.  

“Poverty Overview.”​ The World Bank​. 2 October 2019. 

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview​. Accessed 6 March 2020.  

Table POP1. “Child Population: Number of children (in millions) ages 0-17 in the United States 

by age, 1950-2018 and projected 2019-2050. ​ChildStats.gov. S

​ eptember 2018. 

https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp​. Accessed 6 March 

2020. 

Table POP2. “Children as a percentage of the population. Persons in selected age groups as a 

percentage of the total U.S. population, and children ages 0-17 as a percentage of the 

dependent population, 1950-2018 and projected 2019-2050.” ​ChildStats.gov. 

September 2018. ​https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop2.asp​. 

Accessed 7 March 2020.