by Sue E

Created on: January 20, 2009   Last Updated: February 02, 2009

Parents have so many things to teach their children. But there are so many forgotten things that children remind us of and can teach us - if we are willing to learn.

Unconditional Love

We hear of unconditional love everywhere. But babies are the most perfect examples of expressions of unconditional love. They love you for just being you and unabashedly express it in a multitude of ways. Licking, kissing and laughing and craving your touch, all make you feel like the ruler of the world, which in your baby's world, you are.

Be the Eternal Optimist

Young Children are forever the eternal optimists, until they learn otherwise from our words and actions. My toddler son once pointed to the sky and said, "Look, Blue Rainbow". Wow! I'd never thought of the sky as a mono-chromatic rainbow, but what a way to celebrate what's normally thought of as mundane.

Grudges are not worth it

In your child's world, there's no such thing as grudges. Children fight with each other, scream, push, hold hands, hug and kiss all within a total span of 3 seconds. For adults, the vast amount of mental energy gets wasted in brooding about the past or worrying about the future. That's probably why almost all children have a sharp mind and a keen intellect in their area of interest.

Self Love

A child never feels that there is anything not to like about themselves until they learn so, from our critique of our bodies and our selves. They do not criticize themselves or others. They just accept everyone for who they are without judgment or prejudice.

Expressing One's Feelings

Children always express their feelings, whether it's positive or negative. They don't hold it in and let it marinate; they let it out and find relief. They teach us that anger, sadness, excitement, and happiness are all just feelings and its better to vent feelings out than hold them inside.

Learning

What makes children special is also their willingness to learn all of the time. A person's mind is as young as it's willing to learn. Signs of physical aging start showing when the mind is not ready to learn new skills or information anymore. Many adults with youthful countenance have attributed it to their love for learning something new everyday.

Life is Fun

Young children always focus on having fun. To them, learning happens in the process of having fun. As adults, we feel guilty about having a good time. Our life is defined by "have to's" instead of "want to's". A stress free life is a disease free one. Instead of waiting until retirement to do what we want to, let's learn that the only things worth doing are the ones we can have fun with.

Children are a dense storehouse of big wisdom in a small body. They have so many important life lessons to teach us adults, and if we can someday become more like our children, our life will have been well lived and loved.

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