Ten Lessons We Learn from Kids
- Maggie Wallem Rowe
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
Because wisdom sometimes wears Velcro
AUDIO LETTER
MANY OF US ARE PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS. Teachers and mentors. Leaders and guides.
The littles we care for may need help tying their laces, but when it comes to living with wonder, honesty, and a sense of discovery, kids are often way ahead of the rest of us.
Even if no little people currently inhabit your home, you can’t go out without seeing kids in tow at church, twirling through the air at the playground, or throwing tantrums at the supermarket.
Every new baby, they say, is God’s promise that the world will go on. We care for them, love them, teach them.
But what they don’t tell you is how much children can teach us.
Here are ten things I’ve learned from some of my favorite miniature humans.
1. Diapers aside, there are more important things than staying dry.
Grab your boots and head out whatever the weather. Your clothes will dry and so will you. Kids know better than we do that after the rain stops, the puddles come out. And if you’re in a prolonged rainy season of the heart, all the more reason to laugh and splash whenever you get the chance.
2. When you need to cry, go ahead, let it out.
Maybe you’re hungry or mad at your family or you don’t even know why you feel like a fussbudget.
Let it out. Then let it go. It’s not good for our emotional health to hold it in.
3. Find a playground and a good sturdy swing.
Maybe take a kid or two along. Then pump your legs. Throw your head back and let your hair hang down. Turn your face to the sky and swing high. You were young once, and you still are inside.
4. Your clothes do not always have to match.
Matching is overrated. See if anyone else notices. (Trust me, they won’t.) And if you’re worried about what others might think, take comfort in this: They aren’t thinking about you at all.
5. Rescue a worm from a puddle.
Reach deep into your pocket when the man on the corner with sad eyes holds out his sign. Take the neighbor boy hiking when his single mom has to work. Model compassion for others and practice it yourself.
6. Read a book - lots of books - to children and you will discover things you forgot or maybe never knew.
Like how ants care for their fallen brothers, and the way baby spiders launch themselves into the world. And how people who create those Little Free Libraries are geniuses because they teach you to put something in when you take something out.
(Also, be sure to tell kids that God wrote a book too. It’s really, really good.)
7. Snacks are very important.
Always pack a snack. When you’ve had a bad day and you feel like roaring like a crankosaurus, a healthy snack will help. Or one not so healthy works just as well. Sometimes even better.
8. Listen to grown-ups as they have important things to teach you.
Many of them know more about certain topics than you do. Not all, but lots. This is important to remember when you are 2 ½ and 12 ½ but especially when you are 72 ½.
9. Be nice to people who are nice to you. And be nice to the ones who are not.
A grown-up named Jesus told us to do that. (He actually told us to love them, which is more important than being nice.)
10. If life seems to be passing too quickly, volunteer to watch a gaggle of children for a few hours or days.
Miraculously, time slows right down to a crawl.
Kids may forget their lunch, color outside the lines, and ask “why?” a hundred times—but if you’re paying attention, they’re also handing out wisdom walking in Velcro shoes and held in snack-sticky hands.
ITS YOUR TURN. What’s one thing you’ve learned from loving a child in your life? Please leave a comment so we can learn from each other. I read and respond to each one!
Special announcement: On Friday, August 1, I'll be introducing a new monthly book-giveaway: Shelf Indulgence! Nothing to do if you're already part of our Seasoned Souls community.