The Loss Of Innocence By Barbara Andolsek

The loss of innocence is an inevitable change, often caused by events and external forces, that everyone must endure as they progress through life. No matter what the cause is, putting behind childish habits and games is a difficulty commonly experienced by people growing and maturing. The loss of innocence can be caused by exposure to the world, parents, and growing up, as seen in “The Loss of Innocence”by Anita John, Peter Tait’s article, “‘Too much information destroys childhood innocence’”, and the painting Urban Innocence by Barbara Andolsek. In the poem, “The Loss of Innocence”, Anita John shows that exposure to the world at a young age can cause the loss of innocence.. John writes, “The loss of a child’s innocence/ [can be caused] By

Tait writes, “In our current world, children are subjected to a veritable surfeit of information which, unfiltered, can destroy their innocence and produce social and emotional problems,” (Tait). The author explains that too much information can cause a loss of innocence because of the realization of life’s issues and realities, along with mental health problems. Another cause of these dangers to health and innocence is when adults “treat young children as sounding boards in discussions of adult issues, emotional, social, physical or even financial,”, which is hugely destabilising and damaging to young lives” (Tait). Children, unsure if the security and trust they had in their parents was well placed, can become more independent too early, causing a loss of innocence. In addition, Tait writes: “we have an epidemic of mental illness as children struggle with ‘too much information’ or ‘too much, too soon’, with the effect evident in increased depression or, in extremis, such appalling manifestations of distorted youth as sexual crimes committed by children often against other children and suicide” (Tait). Children might not know what to do with the influx of information given to them, and resort to depression or impure actions, causing a loss of innocence. Peter Tait describes how parents can unknowingly cause the loss of their children’s innocence in the article, “‘Too much information destroys childhood