Please Let Kids be Kids

 As a kid, you are comforted by tradition and routine. For example, with Easter around the corner, I am reminded that my childhood traditions and routines included: a new Easter dress (the fabric of which was picked out earlier - usually something floral- and sewn by Mom), Maundy Thursday service and a boisterous round of “Up From the Grave He Arose” on Sunday morning.

As an adult, YOU are now responsible for traditions and routines… in a world and culture that is completely unrecognizable from your own upbringing and youth.

As a kid, you trust the adults in your world - doctors, teachers, neighbors, pastors. You trust that they are who they say they are, they will do what the say they will do, and they have your best interests in mind.

As an adult, you learn the truth. Of course there are trustworthy adults of integrity, but they seem few and far between. I wonder if it’s always been that way, and I was just a naive kid, or if it has gotten worse?

As a kid, the beauty and delight of life is being in the moment. Oh, how may hours I delighted in replaying the same dang storylines with my Barbies (I had one Ken; he was a polygamist), making and coloring designs with my Spirograph and swinging - just back and forth.

As an adult, you have to write it in your planner and put post-it notes on the mirror - BE PRESENT- because as adults, our world is on hyperspeed -getupgetreadygotoworkdotheworkrespondtoemailsplanplanplanprepprepprepgotoameetingorthreerunerrandsmakedinnerdohomeworkreadgotobed. Work always comes before play. Responsibility always trumps relaxation. Thinking ahead supersedes just….thinking.

Being a kid is a blessed gift. We only learn that when we are no longer one. We don’t realize it when we are raising our own kids because of the pressure and judgment we feel when we are feeling around in the dark trying to parent. But it boomerangs again when we get grandkids - no pressure, all pleasure.

That said, please let kids be kids. Uninterrupted, unscheduled time to play is gold. It is where curiosity is born and creativity is nurtured. We need both in order to progress as a society. Treat kids like a plant: give them sunshine, put them outside, feed them good food, water them often, protect and shelter them as needed, and prune as needed. If cared for properly, the blooms will be amazing.