Dear fellow moms and dads,
Do you remember the pandemic?
As I write this, people around me are coughing, sneezing, shivering, lowering their fevers, and staying home sick. The good old flu is back. No one seems particularly worried about COVID anymore — even though it caused enormous damage, both to public health and to the global economy. For a brief moment, it even allowed our planet to breathe a little from pollution.
Much of what I know about COVID I learned the same way most people did — by reading about it somewhere.
But one thing I know from firsthand experience:
the pandemic caused lasting damage to art and culture.
Even though art and culture have never been especially valued in our society, during the pandemic they were pushed even further to the margins. In one public discussion about the fact that artists could not perform their work because of epidemiological restrictions — and were therefore struggling to survive — a popular response quickly emerged:
“Go dig potatoes.”
Truth be told, similar attitudes existed even before the pandemic. Many people still believe that artists are freeloaders who live at the expense of taxpayers. What few are willing to acknowledge is that every time an artist receives a fee for their work, they also pay taxes and contributions to the state — just like anyone else who earns a living through honest work.
But rather than burden you with my frustrations about communicating with adults — who are often convinced they know everything — I would rather turn my attention to children. And to the topics that truly matter to us as parents, far more than the endless cycle of daily political complaints.
Art and culture for children are often deeply underestimated.
And yet it is well known that quality theatre for children and young audiences does far more than simply entertain. It contributes to several essential aspects of a child’s development: psychological growth, education, appreciation of aesthetics, the development of future audiences, and ultimately the creation of a more fulfilled and humane society.
Children who grow up consuming cultural content also have a greater chance of achieving a higher standard of living later in life.
The same applies to reading.
If you read to children from the moment they are born — if a culture of reading exists within the family — that child will grow up to become a reader. And readers tend to become more thoughtful, more empathetic, and often more successful adults.
Numerous studies have confirmed this.
Yet during the pandemic it seemed as though all of that knowledge was suddenly forgotten.
Under the justification of public health measures, entire generations of children were deprived of cultural experiences. And I say “under the justification” deliberately — because cultural events were among the places with the lowest risk of infection.
And yet theatre performances were legally placed in the same category as crowded bars and football stadiums.
Even when many of us working in the arts offered schools and kindergartens new models for organizing theatre performances safely — models that did not endanger anyone — three generations of children lost the opportunity to experience live art.
To the schools and kindergartens that nevertheless continued to host performances: thank you. You were in the minority, but you existed. And both the children and I are grateful.
Eventually we survived the pandemic.
Now that the barriers between people have reopened, children can once again freely enjoy cultural experiences.
Wonderful.
Except for one problem: most children still do so very rarely.
Why?
In theatre theory, children are often described as a “captive audience.” They do not decide where they go. They cannot choose whether the family will visit a theatre or a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon.
Perhaps not every parent needs to be fully aware of how important exposure to culture is for a child’s development.
But from every school principal, teacher, and educator — I do expect that awareness.
I would even expect schools to be legally required to provide children with experiences they might not otherwise encounter in their everyday lives. But such a law does not exist. Cultural content is not mandated within the curriculum.
Sometimes it feels as if Croatia does not fully love its own culture and art.
There — another political thought trying to sneak into this blog.
But when these phenomena are so deeply interconnected, it is impossible to discuss one without touching on several others. The upbringing and education of our children are also intertwined with everything else around us. They happen everywhere, all the time.
That is why it is so important to consciously shape parts of a child’s everyday life and free time.
How?
Start with simple things.
Take them to theatre performances. Visit museums. Attend workshops. Explore cultural events together. Culture is a broad field — there are countless possibilities.
I must admit that at first even I did not fully understand why art and culture matter so much for children — and for human beings in general.
As Hermann Hesse once said: in two hundred years, no one will remember the mayor of a city, but people will still know the poems of a poet or the paintings of an artist.
Art and culture are among the things that distinguish us from animals. They are deeply connected to the development of imagination — perhaps the most limitless potential of the human brain.
Nikola Tesla himself relied heavily on imagination when he envisioned many of the technologies that shape our modern world.
But what exactly makes art and culture beneficial? What do they influence inside our minds, our bodies, our emotional and psychological systems?
Fortunately, I studied early childhood and preschool education, where I learned a great deal about these questions. The other half of my knowledge comes from more than twenty years of performing and interacting with children.
When exploring the benefits that art and culture bring to children, I will focus on my own field: dramatic art, and more specifically theatre.
In the next article, I will answer the question posed in the title:
How does theatre influence children?
You will see very concrete examples of the benefits theatre can bring to your child — and why those benefits matter for both their lives and yours.
The only question I cannot answer is whether this year will bring more theatre performances for children than the years before the pandemic.
That depends largely on you.
Will you take your little captives to the theatre — or not?
And finally, if this article felt a bit more serious than my previous ones, I have a simple suggestion:
Visit a theatre this week or next and attend a performance for children or young audiences.
You will have much more fun there — I promise.
And who knows… we might even see each other at one of those performances.
Sincerely,
Igor