Kids may not clearly express how much they love the things you do, but if you pay attention, you will learn what they appreciate. Stuff like snow, boundaries… oh, I love my freedom, how I wish life would just be easy and free. I also wouldn’t mind holidaying 24/7 but work must be done.Below are a few things kids love that you probably hate.
Questions: When I meet a stranger and they go all “investigator” on me, I shut them out because one, I believe one has to earn trust before they start getting answers from me. Two, because people judge others all the time; why would I give you reason to judge me while we hardly know each other. Lastly, I am not a student; I am not at a hospital and I’m not lost. These are the only three situations I would suck up more than five questions.
On the contrary, these little people thrive on questions. I swear I feel like I answer close to five hundred questions in a day. What is this? What is it for? Where did you get it? Did you buy it? Who gave it to you? Why did they give it to you? Arrrggghhhh!!!
Boundaries: I always get amazed at how kids learn house rules. Sometimes we think our children will never appreciate discipline and feel guilty when we punish them but kids love to know before-hand what you expect from them. Boundaries bring in a sense of security and therefore reduce anxiety and boost confidence in children.
Kids appreciate knowing what they can’t do. They value your limits and they play safe when it comes to disobedience if they know the aftermath. I found out that since my daughter learned about the don’ts in our home, she has that innocent look she throws before you even speak. Among her first words to learn was “sorry”. That tells she knows her territories.
I think our families’ most hated words are “you are grounded”. It spells trouble, first you are stuck without privileges and everything you get is limited, and you also feel judged. Sometimes it helps to discipline but sometimes it fails miserably… especially for children who are naturally outgoing.
Don’t be deceived. Unlike adults, children love boundaries even when it denies them fun. They get a sense of protection when you say “don’t play beyond that gate” or “you must head home immediately after school”; they feel your care and even if they may not show it, it makes them happy to know your expectations. Instead of punishing them out of nowhere, kids need to know I get punished when I overstep this and that boundary.
The boundaries you make in your home must be respected and applied by all children. Otherwise, they will spell favoritism if not applied equally to all children.
Scheduled routines:
Adults like approaching their day haphazardly, attending to things as they come and dealing with several things at the same time (commonly known as multi-tasking). Not so for kids; even though they may not act like it; kids love doing one thing at a time and they appreciate knowing the next task on the line. They actually celebrate their achievements task after task unlike us.
Routines tend to be boring and too predictable for adults, they make you feel like life is one long boring cycle. It’s not the same for children.
Kids who know how their day works cooperate better when they are needed to do things they dislike. A good routine boosts your child’s confidence and allows them to savor the time they have for a certain task.
It also helps you to be organized even though it may not feel like it at the moment.
Tasks: – it always feels nice to be a person who can offer assistance and provide some relief. It also feels nice to be celebrated for a job well done and to feel part of an accomplishment. This is what makes children accept chores. If the fulfillment is not there, they will probably repel responsibility, but if you offer guidance and praise for a job well done, your kids will love feeling useful and will grow in confidence. They also start cherishing the time they spend with you.
For an adult, if a task is not a hobby, it better bring in cash.
Sleep: –
Contrary to their immediate response on the sleeping call, kids love to rest after play. It helps them re-energize. The reason your child could be resisting bedtime is not because they hate sleep. No! It could be separation anxiety. Especially, if they associate their sleeping with waking up and finding you gone.
Very few adults have wholesome sleep. We go to bed and start tossing, managing our day from bed and hating ourselves for what we failed to do. While we finally fall asleep, we start having weird dreams. Most adults actually associate sleep with stress.
Children love to rest and they won’t fuss about it if they already have a sleeping routine that they are used to.
Did I mention kids also love repeating work? The last thing I want to hear is the word re-do. I guess it’s because they are not in a hurry to finish and neither do they understand deadlines. What do you think? Do you know anything your kids love but you hate? Share it with us in the comments section…