Five things you can learn from your kids

It’s a given that Parents are naturally their children’s tutors and life coaches, but the flip side is you can learn so much from kids too. It brings to the fore the wonderful naivety and innocence that only children can possess.

To stop worrying about appearances. Small children are blissfully unaware of the state of their hair, their clothes, or the house! As a result, they rarely get bogged down by keeping up appearances, leaving them free to simply enjoy themselves.

To lose yourself in stories. Have you ever tried to get a response out of a child who is engrossed in their favourite story book or TV programme? The ability to focus solely on one thing at a time is something many of us lose as adults. But multi-tasking all day can be exhausting, and taking time to lose yourself in a good book or movie can be an effective stress reliever, giving you a break from everyday thoughts and worries.

To take people at face value. Small children don’t judge other people on the car they drive or the house they live in. They only care about how they are treated by the people they meet. A smile and a few kind words will mean more to a child than the watch you wear or the job you do.

To think outside the box. The question ‘Why?’ can become the bane of many parents’ lives, but it can also be so refreshing to watch a child question everything in the world around them. It reminds us to think for ourselves, rather than just following the pack accepting everything we are told. After all, progress depends on the unreasonable man (or woman)!

To simply have fun. As adults, we can feel like we have to spend our time only on useful pursuits like making money and keeping house. Kids, on the other hand, know how to while away hours and even days simply having fun. Ok, so we don’t often have entire days at our disposal, but we can choose to take a few minutes here and there to just have fun, without there being a pay-cheque or tidy house at the end of it. Although, as Mary Poppins said, even jobs can be fun, and once you find the fun, the job’s a game! So pretending to be a basket ball star while you throw the kids’ toys back in the toy box is allowed, too!