Kids

I love kids. Kids are awesome. One of my best friends is 10 years old. I would jump in front of a train to save him, or virtually any child for that matter.

Kids like me. I don't know why necessarily, but maybe it's because I am one of them at heart. I don't talk down to kids or treat them like kids. They are little people unspoiled by society.
I was hanging out with a friend and her son who's almost 2. She left the table to go to the bathroom. She was reluctant to do this because he doesn't take to people sometimes. And mommy is his safety blanket. I sat there next to him making faces and chatting, doing what I normally do around kids. Being fun. She came back expecting him to be melting down. "That's amazing." she said. "I'm magic." I replied.

I like kids. Unless I am ganged up on in a bounce house by 12 of them. But that's another story of the last 4 thanksgivings...

I have a problem with the way the world has taught parents to wrap a kid in bubble wrap to protect them from every little bump, scrape, or electrical shock. Kids bounce. If a young child falls down it will look to the nearest adult to see if this was a bad spill. If you react like it's life threatening the kid will erupt in crying. If you react non-chalantly, they think it wasn't bad. And 9 times out of 10 it's not that bad. A bruise or skinned knee is not a big deal. It's what happens as a kid. You are testing the limits of your world. Sometimes you get scratched.
My friend has a 2.5 year old. He has started piling his toys up to get to the counters to get cookies. "He might fall," says my friend. But look what he is doing. He is building and figuring out how to problem solve and reach a goal. I climbed on the counters a lot as a kid. And look at me! Wait. That might not be a good example.

Of course kids should be kept from danger. Teach them the stove is hot, not to dismatle the electrical plugs, and the dog is not necessarily a toy. He might not want to be ridden. But give them some latitude to fail. And let them fail. I learned more from the times I failed than the times I won. This idea that every child should get a trophy for participating is ludicrious. They don't do it in the Olympics. Gold, Silver, Bronze. That's all there is. Children being taught self esteem over everything else is going to lead to a generation of narcissistic whiners. Actually, 2+2=4, not 5. "But I tried really hard." That is commendible, however, it's math. There's only one answer. Unless you are working in string theory in quantum physics.
Do you want to live in a world where every kid thinks they are a hollywood mogul? Or a princess? Isn't one Paris Hilton too many?

Kids need to fail. It builds character. Kids need to have scars. It's good for show and tell.