What Are We Filling Our Children With?
Exploring Noise, Moral Imagination, and the Inner Life of the Child
Noise isn’t just loudness. It’s not only traffic, television or toys that beep. In today’s world, noise
comes in many forms – from endless Netflix episodes to algorithm-driven social media feeds, flashy
advertising, gaming apps, and jam-packed daily schedules. Even moments that appear restful on the
surface can be filled with stimulation. It’s a reality that defines modern childhood – constant input,
everywhere.
As parents and educators, we’re encouraged to manage this noise. We’re told to install filters, limit
screen time, teach cyber safety and offer wholesome alternatives. And yes, these are all necessary
tools – but they’re only part of the solution.
What if the real task isn’t simply reducing noise, but cultivating depth?
The Importance of Moral Imagination
Enter the concept of moral imagination – the capacity to pause, to feel deeply, to reflect before
reacting, and to act with ethical clarity. It’s not about teaching children lists of what’s “right” or
“wrong.” It’s about nurturing their ability to see through complexity, to hold empathy, and to imagine
how life could be different – for themselves, and for others.
This kind of imagination is not developed overnight. It grows slowly, through storytelling, rhythm,
silence, connection with nature, and meaningful relationships. It is strengthened in moments when
children are allowed to play, create, wonder, and simply be – without being constantly filled up by
external messages, comparisons or demands.
What Happens When We Overfill?
Children are sensitive beings. When they are continually filled with stimulation – flashing images,
background noise, fast-paced entertainment, content that’s violent, cynical or shallow – their inner
world can become overrun. There’s little space left for their own thoughts, their own feelings, or
their unique sense of self to unfold.
And we must ask: what are we filling them with?
We speak so often about education preparing children for the world – but what if we also prepared
their inner world for life? What if instead of racing to expose them to everything, we protected
moments of quiet, of beauty, of reflection – so they can discover who they are and what matters to
them?
Rudolf Steiner and the Inner Life of the Child
Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, offered a view of childhood that centred on inner
development. He saw human growth unfolding in seven-year stages. In the first seven years (birth to
age 7), children learn through movement, imitation, play, and sensory experience. They need
rhythm, warmth and safety. In the next seven (7 – 14), moral imagination is nourished through stories,
the arts, and meaningful human connection. Only in adolescence (14 – 21) does rational judgment
and abstract ethical reasoning begin to truly take root.
At each stage, the question is not only what children are exposed to, but when – and whether they
have the inner grounding to carry what they encounter. Steiner’s approach asks us to consider: what
are we strengthening in the child? Are we nurturing stillness, empathy, attentiveness, and imagination?
Are we building the muscles that will allow them to stand in their own truth amidst a noisy world?
The Gift of Space
Not every family has access to a Waldorf school, but the insights remain relevant. Perhaps the most
radical thing we can do today is not fill every moment. To allow for boredom. To allow for wonder. To
allow children to become themselves – not just reflect the world back.
We can all protect little pockets of quiet. We can value slow walks, shared stories, open-ended play,
mealtimes without screens, or simply sitting together in nature. These simple acts plant seeds for a
deeper kind of growth.
In a culture that values doing, clicking, scrolling – perhaps our greatest task is to guard the spaces of
not-doing. The spaces where children can simply be. Not empty – but open. Not distracted – but
present. Not filled by the world – but guided by something within.
To nurture moral imagination is to defend the child’s capacity to feel and reflect before reacting.
It is, in many ways, a lifelong gift.
This post was inspired by Briony Lipton’s article on moral imagination in childhood development.
Quote credited to her work: “To nurture moral imagination is to defend the child’s capacity to feel
and reflect before reacting.”