We all understood the following life lessons when we were four. Maybe it’s time to relearn them…
When my son Jack was born four years ago, I knew it was my job to teach him how to behave like a grown-up. What I didn’t expect was for him to teach me why it’s sometimes better to act like a kid. Considering they don’t know how to tie their shoelaces yet, four-year-olds have remarkable inherent wisdom and give such good advice regarding life lessons.
Life lesson #3
Embrace age
I was helping Jack play a computer game designed to reveal your “fitness” age, as opposed to your actual age. My special tech illiteracy resulted in me accidentally entering the details of my height (164cm) and Jack’s weight (26kg). The busy little computerised personal trainer concluded that anyone with those measurements must be dangerously decrepit. “Your Wii age,” it informed Jack gravely. “is 48.” “Forty-eight!” gasped Jack, delighted. “That is the best thing ever!
Kids don’t see aging as a journey to oblivion. They think anyone older is a powerhouse of experience. They long to be a big kid who can ride bikes, go out on his own and read books. To a curious little boy, the older you are the more you know
It’s easy to count your age in wrinkles – which is a sure-fire way to cause more wrinkles. It’s much healthier to think of each birthday as a new year’s worth of wisdom waiting to happen. Whenever I catch myself longing for my 20s, I remember the good bits but also remind myself how useless I was at life back then. I certainly don’t know it all at 32 but I’m learning to look forward to 48 when I reckon I’ll have it nailed.
Life lesson #4
Stand up for yourself.
A year ago, Jack and I were sitting together on the bus in front of a short-haired older woman in a pantsuit. Jacks a good kid, but sometimes he gets a little squirmy, as kids can. “Will you stop that child misbehaving!” barked the woman. Flustered, I settled Jack down and asked him to apologise, which he politely did. She continued to glare at him, muttering under her breath while he sat still and gazed at her quietly. Then he brightened. “You look like my grandad!” he chirped.
How many times have you kept quiet at someone else’s rudeness because you don’t want to make a scene? I’m not suggesting we all go around attacking the gender identification of bad-tempered old ladies, but sometimes it’s perfectly reasonable to stand up for yourself when someone’s being unfair. Just keep it polite, and preferably employ Jack’s exquisite sense of comic timing.
One of the important life lessons is to have fun
Life lesson #5
The washing can wait
You have to keep all the plates spinning for a perfect life: excel at your job, maintain a spotless house, look immaculate every time you step out the door. Take your focus away for a second and it all comes crashing down, right? Wrong. A four-year-old knows a perfect life is also about shooting crocodiles with laser beams because they’re trying to steal your treasure. It’s about laughing crazily while you yell the words to “Life is a Highway” on a boring car trip. And it’s about pulling every bottle and sauce and packet out of the cupboard to stage a chaotic, impromptu picnic on the kitchen floor.
A day without fun for fun’s sake is anything but perfect. No one’s ever died from leaving the dishes in the sink for an hour while they exterminated klepto crocodiles.
Read part 1 here.
Also read: Woman use to hide junk food in her bedroom so she didn’t have to share it
