So often we think about all the things children need to learn — the things we need to teach children.
We teach children to:
- do basic life functions: sleep through the night, feed themselves, dress themselves
- talk (Use your nice words!)
- read
- interact with other children (Play nice, right?)
But children teach adults a lot too, don’t you think?
Things like:
- It’s fun to build a block tower — and just as much fun to knock it down.
- The best books should be read over and over and over again.
- Sometimes the best part of a birthday present is the box.
- Kissing a boo-boo may not make it all better, but it does help.
And yes, I’ve learned how much patience I did, and didn’t have, from my children. And I learned about forgiveness from my children too — because my children are the most forgiving people I’ve ever met.
In Your Words: What have you learned from children?
[ctt template=”8″ link=”8b2wi” via=”yes” ]In Others\’ Words: Live and Learn http://wp.me/p63waO-2kg #InOthersWords #quotes #childhood[/ctt] [ctt template=”8″ link=”bt7bu” via=”yes” ]\”You can learn a lot from a child. How much patience you have, for instance.\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2kg #quotes #childhood [/ctt]
Comments 6
What have I learned from kids?
Well, that the plaintive call,”Hey, wait up!” resonates far further than the playground fence.
Author
True, my friend. True.
I’m freshly learning that no matter how small the problem may look to a grown up, if it looks like a mountain to a child, we need to grab a shovel and work side by side with them until enough of it is removed to be manageable. Annihilate heart-stopping fear. Build hope. Introduce them every day at all levels to the One who is Hope.
Author
Oh, Dee, I just love this … absolutely love this. And the shovel I saw in my mind? One of those little orange plastic ones that comes with a plastic pail … the kind you use at the beach to build sandcastles. 🙂
Something I only semi-jokingly say about motherhood is this: I used to think I was a nice person . . . and then I had kids.
So true.
My children have taught me the importance of listening, of being fully present in the moments. As my boys head into their teen years, I pray we’ll still talk as we have in past years. I love hearing their thoughts, drawing them out, bringing them down off the ledge. And that only happens when I’m engaged in the moment.
They’ve taught me patience. They’ve taught me what selfless love looks like. And possibly most important, they’ve taught me how to pray with a diligence I never had before they were born.
Author
Oh, Jeanne, first you made me laugh … then I nodded my head “yes, yes, yes” all the way through the rest of your answer! <3