I see a lot of information offered on what I as a parent can teach my children in life but rarely do I see the idea presented that sometimes your children teach you just as much as you teach them. After all nothing has taught me more in life and about life than being a parent has.
I’m not talking about the everyday learning of how to soothe a squalling baby or how to remove grass stains, or even the concepts of 7th grade math. When it comes to those things I certainly know more than my girls do but what I’m talking about is the more abstract things that having children can teach.
Being a parent reminds you of the wonders and perspective of childhood that as an adult we’ve long forgotten. Perhaps all of the things that having children teaches us we did all know at some point but it was left behind with our own childhood.
Children teach us, or perhaps remind us, of the value of new experience. Children love to explore and learn and they serve as a reminder that we ourselves still have a lot to learn about the world around us. A child can teach us (or remind us) that learning is fun perhaps even something to love.
They also tackle new things without the same fears that often stop us as adults from exploring them. We’ve learnt to be cautious and to fear the unknown. While some fear and caution is certainly prudent we should not fear them simply because they are unknowns.
Remember for a child everything in life is a new thing. Imagine if never having seen or heard of snow in your life you did. Imagine walking out your front door to see such a dramatic change, the world completely coated in a substance you had never seen before.
What do you suppose your reaction would be? Certainly not to go out and explore this new found wonder, yet this is exactly what children do day after day. Much of the world is unknown to a child yet they continue to explore it without fear.
Take also that absolute wonderment in the world that children see. My children have taught me to be curious about the world again, to look at the bugs and plants and creatures of our shared world and amaze in it.
They have taught me to play again, to not worry what anyone else might think of me, to love unconditionally, and to love myself in any way shape or form. They have taught me to adapt on the fly, to do things spontaneously to be creative and just have fun.
So while I take them by the hand in order to teach them I will also try to remember to watch for the lessons they still have to teach me.
