Ten2ndRule - I Want That

On Facebook recently, a young single friend posted something like this - that even though kids are annoying, he realized that he used to be one. So now that he knows kids are irritating, they are all going to grow up and be adults one day. So we should all be patient with them.

He was corrected in his comments, but it made me realize what some of the general public think about children:

Children are annoying, but are to be tolerated.

It does take a lot of patience to raise children, not because they are annoying, but because we are sinners. This video gives a perfect illustration of our nature. 



We want what we want and we want it now. Children tend to force you to change that line of thinking. There is no room for selfishness in parents of any children. There are many needs that must be met. And those needs must be met in the child's timing. You don't get to choose when a major diaper blow out is going to happen, or a high fever, or a skinned knee, or lost tooth, etc. Trying to rush small children through the grocery store is like herding kittens. And there is no way to predict the need to go potty while you're in the car.

For the past twenty-five years, children have changed my way of thinking. From the moment your baby is born, you have to consider everything you do in light of how it will affect the baby.

• Nursing mothers must wear clothing that is easy to feed in
• You must question how certain foods will make the baby cry
• Necklaces might scratch the baby's face
• Spit up has a special way of covering as many different surfaces as possible
• Toddlers take longer to get ready to go than you are actually able to be gone
• Potty breaks are tests on their own

If you haven't grown up spending large amounts of time with babies and small children, your thinking may need to be changed.

Sarah has friends at college that ask her why she goes home so often. Sometimes she questions that herself. But when Abigail runs to greet her with open arms and says, "I missed you so much," she knows why.

When I had my hands especially full at a friend's house last week, Abigail announced that she needed to go potty. Without thinking, I asked their fifteen year old daughter to take her. After they went, I realized what a blessing that was! How many teenagers in the general public are happy to take a two year old potty? If this young lady thought children were annoying she would have been at the least hesitant or even repulsed.

She and Sarah both know what a joy children are. They know that we don't have to just wait until they grow up and aren't annoying.

I'd like to send a message to this young Facebook friend, "Smile at these little humans and you'll see it too. Engage them in conversation and you'll be surprised at what they can teach you. Children can teach you that you aren't the center of the world." 

The world shouldn't revolve around children, just include them. Don't wait until they're grown to tolerate them. Learn to love them today and they will be easier to tolerate when they are adults.