Health & Fitness
Patch Blog: Dadmissions on The Wisdom of Kids
My name is Pete Wilgoren. I am the dad to two little girls. These are my Dadmissions.
Dadmissions on the wisdom of kids:
When I have a tough decision to make, I often sit and agonize over it. I'll think about the pros and cons. I'll lose sleep, and get that tight knot in my stomach. I'll get heartburn and pop a couple of Tums. But the decision process comes so easy for kids.
Sometimes I wish i could go back to being a kid and just make those decisions on a whim. And I've figured out why. For kids, there's no gray area. It's either black or white and no in between. "I don't want to go to sleep." "I want a cupcake." "I hate cleaning my room." The kids either like something or dislike something immediately. They don't need to think about it and there is no agonizing in their decisions. This is partly because, they only need to think about themselves, and not necessarily the ramifications of their decisions. They are the ultimate "me" generation.
This all came up when I put the girls to bed this weekend. I work a nightshift so the only time I get to put the kids to bed and do the whole bedtime routine is on the weekends. It's the ONLY time. On this occasion after four stories-- one from Cinderella, a My Little Pony, a Pinkalicious, and another, the girls and I sat there with the lights out while they tried to fall asleep. Alicia in her little girl wisdom said, "I'm sad we only get to see you 48 hours a week."
It was a 7 year old's emotional equivalent of a master Ninja's choke hold. She didn't even realize it. When I told her that's just what my job is right now, she went in for the kill and said, "So why don't you just get another job?" I told her it wasn't that easy and I told them I miss them as well. And then we sat in the dark while the girls drifted off to sleep. For Alicia there was no gray, just black and white. It was so simple in her mind.
Sometimes you forget to take stock of the wisdom of kids. On this night, she gave me a lot to think about.