7 Things to Learn
from Children

Mirjam Stoffels

I n my teens I always said to myself ‘I never say never, but I don’t think so…’ when thinking about growing up and having children. When I was 25 I met a partner who thought exactly the same.

Then all of a sudden I was 34, married to that partner and all grown up [if we can ever say we grow up...] . Tick-tock-tick-tock, my biological clock was ticking. In the meantime I had become an aunt of my brothers first daughter and a godmother to their son. And what I thought would never happen, happened: nature called!

I didn’t go as fast as we thought, but when we hit it off, we hit it off with a blast. First it took us three years to ‘manifest’ our first, our son Jop and then 16 months later we became the proud parents of our twin girls Liv and Mare.

Three children in 16 months… don’t even start counting the diapers we devoured in this household!

That was in 2005. Jop is 10 and the girls almost 9. They have taught me more in the last 10 years than I could have learned in the 37 years I was without children. Here are the top seven lessons my children have taught me [so far]:

 
#1
Laugh… a lot!
Laughter they say, is the best medicine. It lights up the face and spreads warmth wherever and whomever it touches. Children smile 400 times a day. How often do you smile in a day? Do you smile when you meet new people? When you see your kids or friends? Around your co-workers? How about your significant other? Your face has 60 muscles in it that allow you make more than 5,000 different types of expressions, many of which are smiles.

 
#2
Dance like nobody is watching
Put some dance music on and watch how children react. Most of them don’t think twice about it, they just dance. At weddings, at school dances, at parties, they always dance. They dance with whatever rhythm they may have and they don’t care who is watching. What do the adults do? They just stand around. Be carefree! The moment you allow yourself to let go of your fears and your doubts, is the moment you can go back to were you once were, return to innocence. Basically that’s exactly who we are and what we are.

 
#3
Cry when it hurts
Children are quick to cry when they get hurt, don’t understand why things are not going their way or when they have been told off. Don’t be afraid to shed tears when it hurts. Crying is part of our emotions as a human being and suppressing can result in feelings of frustration and anger. Joy in life doesn’t come without pain. There are times when things don’t go your way and you feel frustrated to the point of tears. Crying is like a healing balm for the soul. It helps release the burden of worries, frustrations and anger. It helps make your shoulders feel lighter.

 
#4
Every day is a fresh start
Children do not have a care in the world. Their lives are free from worry. Every day feels like an eternity and a new day means new opportunities to make new friends, explore new adventures, learn new things. Children don’t carry baggage from one day to the next. They start fresh, always.

 
#5
Love yourself
When I ask Jop to rate himself on a scale of 1 to 10 his resolute answer is ‘A 10 mommy. I simply love myself!’ Children do not look in the mirror and frown at what they see. Children make silly faces at their reflections and are more likely to giggle than frown at what they see. Children never see their ‘flaws’ or when they do, they aren’t affected by them. Children love themselves simply for being who they are.

 
#6
A messy home is not the end of the world
I like things in their place, my floors spotless and the kitchen sink free of dirty dishes. My children completely disagree. Toys are best all over the place and muddy foot prints on the floor are a sign of exploration, imagination and discovery. I have come to learn that a mess is just that, a mess. It can be cleaned up and is not the end of the world…

 
#7
Don’t worry that your age is going up
Children actually look forward to their next birthdays. Age always goes up and never comes down. It’s a fact of life we cannot escape from. Once we are born we grow up. My son was looking forward to become teenager last summer and my daughters can’t wait to be 9 years old. Children do not fret and worry about how old they are growing. In fact every birthday is an exciting time for them and something to look forward to.

 

 
‘Sharing is caring!’
And you?
What lessons have you learned from interacting with children?
You can share one of these lessons with us in the comment section below!

Mirjam Stoffels

Founder of seven2success, author of ‘Daily Little Secrets to Success’ and guest blogger at Project Eve and 365 dagen succesvol. In my mission to make seven2success the biggest platform of knowledge and inspiration for women, I want to inspire you with our content! Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! I’d love to connect!  And do you want to inspire other women? Write for us!

 
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