Daily Breeze news story — Dear Grown-Ups of Earth

‘Dear Grown-Ups of Earth:’ Children’s wisdom reminds adults of what’s important

By LISA JACOBS | ljacobs@scng.com and GENIE DAVIS | DAILY BREEZE

PUBLISHED: August 29, 2019 at 2:45 a.m. | UPDATED: May 24, 2021 at 7:08 p.m.

Melissa Heckscher said it was one of those “Kids Say the Darndest Things” ideas.

The Manhattan Beach mother of three noticed her children were always saying the cutest, most profound things, seemingly without even trying. She decided she wanted to capture that.

So she launched a project titled “Dear Grown-Ups of Earth” where she’s collecting letters with childrens’ advice for the planet … and their parents.

“I wanted to show my kids that they do have the power to make a difference,” said Heckscher, who has a 4, 8 and 9 year old. “That their advice matters-and that they really can teach grown-ups a little something.”

So far, she’s collected more than 100 letters. When she reaches 500, she’s hoping to publish a book with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital, LA.

Heckscher said the small-town feeling of her community has made it easier to get the project off the ground. She’s enlisted the help of first and third grade teachers at Pennekamp Elementary School, who made it an in-class activity.

“They were really great about getting the kids to take part,” said Heckscher, who also has letters from as far away as Colorado and Pennsylvania.

The “sweet spot,” said Heckscher, for the creation of these letters is Kindergarten through 3rd grade students.

“I think that’s when kids have the penmanship and writing ability to write clearly-we use the actual letters, so they need to be legible, and it’s also when they are the most honest and original with their advice,” she said.

“Too much older than that and kids fall back on ‘Save the earth’ and ‘Don’t text and drive’ sort of advice, the stuff they hear grown-ups talking about.”

She adds “One of the teachers that took part told her kids to ‘write a letter to grown-ups on how to live a life that’s more enjoyable and more fun,’ and those letters were all so great. We don’t need kids to tell us things we already know like ‘Quit smoking’ and ‘Don’t do drugs.’ We need them to tell us things that we don’t know.”

Among her favorite letters are the most humorous ones, such as the advice she quotes from Coast, age nine. “Dear Grown-ups of the World: You should tell your boss that you’re visiting family in Texas because of a funeral, but instead go to Disneyland.”

The former Daily Breeze reporter has published ten books, including two children’s books for Scholastic.

Parents and children who want to participate can find instructions on how to submit a letter at https://www.grownupsofearth.com/about.

Letters can be scanned or photographed and submitted via website, and should only include the first name and age of the child, and the town they live in, if they wish.

For now, letters are published on DearGrownUpsofEarth.com, as well as on dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages; for the book project, Heckscher wants letters written in the child’s own handwriting, rather than typed.

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