Yesterday I listened to PM as I was driving back home from work. Just before they ended the programme, they returned to remembering Dame Esther Rantzen, who died this week at the age of 86, and in particular one aspect of her legacy, Childline, the charity she created almost exactly 40 years ago. They mentioned that 6 million children have been supported since, including two guests they had on the show who contacted the service when they were children in the late 80s and early 90s.
The second guest explained he wrote to Childline when he was around 10 years old and was dealing with a series of challenges at school. He got a letter back after a few weeks and he said it was the most reassuring thing he’d ever read. Almost 40 years on, he still remembers a phrase which has really stuck with him:
“Don’t worry about making mistakes. That’s why they put rubbers on the ends of pencils.”
This really tocuhed me and I think it’s so powerful. I too would get upset sometimes about making mistakes, and still do, so I wish I had heard something like that when I was a child. Maybe I wouldn’t have paid attention to it in the same way but maybe I would.
What was also compelling is that this person went on to work as a counsellor for Childline and help other children too as a direct result of his positive experience and the fact that it had meant so much to him. He goes on to say it’s hard to imagine a bigger legacy that a national treasure could leave. I couldn’t agree more.
