8 Lessons We Can Learn From Kids

Becoming a mother has taught me many things.  Most of them about myself.  We think we are the ones doing the teaching, but what if we took on the role of student for a moment?  What can we learn from kids?  A slight shift in perspective can reveal many lessons if we are open to them.

We feel totally unprepared when we become parents. There is very little that the world can tell us that prepares us for something so monumental, so life changing. But when we look passed the new challenges that we are faced with, and see the multitude of lessons that we’ve been blessed with we can come to a place of understanding and gratitude for everything that we have, for everything that this new little life is teaching us.  Here is a list of what we can learn from kids:

1.Patience

The number one lesson has to be patience. There is no denying that children teach us this incredibly valuable life lesson. They test our patience every step of the way!  While this is frustrating beyond measure it helps us develop the valuable life skill that is patience.  Our love for them gives us the strength to learn push through the frustrating times and, eventually, to learn patience.
No matter what they do, we will always forgive them and move on.  They can push every last button you have, but you will still be there and you will somehow find the patience to push through.  This may not be without flair ups but ultimately you keep pulling yourself back and exercising patience through it all.  While we are using the ‘I’m counting to 10’ method against them, part of us is applying the same method to our ourselves as a way to ‘keep our cool’.

2.Optimism

Children have a sense of wonder for everything that this life has to offer. Watching our children thrive and enjoy every moment of life helps us to return to a place of optimism.  When last did you get genuinely excited about something?  Be honest.  Even when we are happy about something, us adults seldom allow ourselves to get really excited.  Sadly I think this comes from losing our sense of childlike optimism.  Children are naturally inclined towards optimism.  They want life to be good.  And, when things don’t go well they rebel so much against it you know all about it!
Think about the way your child responds to receiving an ice cream cone.  The word that comes to mind is glee!  It’s a bubbling over of joy and happiness.  The same goes for opening presents on Christmas Day or getting that new dress they asked for.  We get handed an ice cream and give the standard Thank You before absent mindedly eating it.  There’s little or no glee involved.  Watch your children’s responses carefully and ask yourself if you could tap into this sense of optimism, and glee, in your own life.  Are we making a subconscious choice here?  Are we ‘adulting’ and blocking our natural optimism?  I don’t know about you but I’m definitely guilty of doing this, without realizing it you put a cap on your allotted ‘glee’ as an adult.  Boring!  Let’s work on lightening up, shall we!

3.Resilience

Although it might seem that we teach our children to be resilient, sometimes the process of teaching is also a process of learning. Watching our children as they graze their knees, experience their first heartache, and go through life‘s difficult choices, helps us and serves as a reminder of the power of resilience.

Sometime, just being there through someone else’s process can serve as a lesson for us.  With little ones it’s about the shared experiences.  They watch and learn from your experience and when their turn comes you are there to guide and also to learn from how they might handle the situation differently to you.  We all can learn from exposing ourselves to different ways to handle situations and our children are great teachers because we see that even if we teach one way they may choose to react differently.  This is where the opportunity is for us to learn from them.

4.Play Inspires

Children focus their energy on play. While we adults might long to return to the sense of joy that we get from play, what we can learn from kids is the rewards we get from our creative play. Experimenting, creating, breaking down and building back up.  All these forms of play are how children learn to experience the world around them.  They are natural at it!  Their default setting is ‘Explore’ (picture this in an all caps neon sign), and that is just another word for Grow!
Take this valuable lesson from the wonderful children of the world and keep inspiring yourself.  Keep playing and growing through discovering what you love.  How often do you hear an adult complain about ‘Oh, I used to play guitar when I was younger but I haven’t picked one up in years.’?  This is where children are such an inspiration because that’s what they live for!  Being an adult never actually came with a date scheduled into the calendar when you Stop Playing.

5. Stop being Scared

Children very seldom show fear. They dive right in, headfirst, and figure it out as they go. Sometimes they win sometimes they fail, but they never stop trying. Children don’t feel afraid of life. They don’t worry that someone will judge the way they dress, the way they sing or the way they dance. They are pure and true to themselves.  They set a perfect example for the way we should all live our lives.
Now, I know there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part kids are just living their best life.  And, it frustrates the hell out of us adults because we envy their freedom, their reckless disregard for all things straight laced and serious.  Urghh!  All we really want is to feel just as free as they do.  So, pay attention to them the next time you see them jumping in mud puddles or dishing up the entire tub of ice cream before they are told it’s just not such a great idea.  Pay attention to the liberated approach to life.  And, maybe just take a small leaf out of their book and don’t overthink everything.
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6.Mindfulness

Children are the true kings and queens of mindfulness. They will gaze wide eyed at a dewdrop on a leaf or a monarch butterfly in flight. They teach us to see the beauty in everything.  This is what true mindfulness is, being present in the moment.  They aren’t interested in Mum calling to get your shoes on when there are far more important things going on like the ant pinching a crumb from your picnic blanket.
The reason children are happier is because of the little things like this.  They allow life to astound them, to capture their imagination and their tiny, pure little hearts.  They see the magic in life’s design.  One of the most beautiful lessons you could learn from anyone, at any age, is to get caught up in the magic of the now.  Children understand the value in the simple things, and we need to learn from them so we can return to that purity and enjoy life on a much more connected level.

7.Learning Never Ends

Watching children for a day will teach you that all of life is one great big classroom. The learning never, ever ends. If we watch them learn as they play we can begin to see the value in this perpetual state of learning.  From tying shoelaces to dealing with difficult emotion, these mini humans are in full on study mode from the moment they wake up until they lay their heads down at night.  They are sponges, soaking it all it, preparing themselves for the day they will bravely face this world on their own.  And, they love the learning!  For them it is all new and exciting.
As we grow up and spend years in some form of schooling we get ‘sick’ of learning.  We want to just live our lives.  But, we need to understand that the learning doesn’t end when we get older.  Every job, every relationship will bring new lessons.  We are students of life, just like the smaller versions of us.  Life will throw lessons at you that you never asked for or wanted, but there will always be something to take away from it.  Accept the role of student and let it guide you.  First prize?  Embrace the learning that you didn’t choose and seek out the learning that inspires you to be the best version of yourself.

8.Our Feelings Matter

One of the saddest things about growing up is being made to believe that our feelings should be hidden from those around us. Children do not hide their emotions, they work through them, they fully feel every good or bad feeling that passes through their little bodies. Have you ever noticed how a child does not stay sad, angry etc for long? This is because they don’t hold these negative emotions inside rather they express them and move past them.
Now, I know us adults can’t go around throwing tantrums when we don’t get the new jacket we wanted, but when life gets tough it’s okay to be upset about it.  Do the adult thing and take yourself off if you need to.  Have a conversation about it, have a cry, do what you need to to honour those feelings (no, we’re not talking about the jacket anymore).  We’re not talking about turning into a blubbering mess or a spoiled brat, what we’re talking about is allowing yourself the space to be upset if something upsets you!  I mean, honestly, why would you pretend you’re not upset?  For who?

One Last Thing

Let’s not forget the most important lesson of all and that is the power of unconditional love.  They say that love conquers all and I absolutely believe in the power of love, but until you have your child in your hands there is no comprehension of the love you are capable of.  It is one of life’s most precious gifts.  And, this lesson doesn’t take time or practice to learn, it is dropped into your heart the very moment you lay eyes on your child.

So, with that said.  Appreciate the ‘teachers’ your children are in your life.  Appreciate their journey and their contribution to your life and your growth.  And, love them unconditionally!

Steph x

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