No Such Thing as \u201cJust A Kid.\u201d Or\u00a0 Seven Things to Do to Honor a Kid as a Growing Human<\/p>\n
I pegged the kid at eleven.\u00a0 Eleven years old.\u00a0 He was offering an alternative purchasing option to his mother as they were grocery shopping.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t hear the specifics but I could tell he was presenting a logical support for his case.\u00a0 Whatever he was suggesting was in stark contrast to his mother\u2019s plan.\u00a0 Exasperated she said, \u201cWhere do you GET such ideas?\u00a0 You are just a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I knew there\u2019s no such thing as \u201cjust a\u00a0 kid.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s just you. And me.\u00a0 At various stages on our journey.\u00a0 When a human hits a certain age it\u2019s as if a memory synapse simply stops working.\u00a0 The synapse that connects the extraordinary rich recollections of what wonders and breadth there is in the childhood view with the adult that one has become.\u00a0 Bridge just washed out in the storm of growing up.<\/p>\n
1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Actually listen to what they say.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you can\u2019t actually listen tell them the truth, \u201cI can\u2019t listen to you right now.\u00a0 When you can decide a shorter way to tell me this \u2013 I will be able to listen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tell them the truth.\u00a0 Period.<\/p>\n
4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember their name and address them by their name.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider the plausibility of their suggestions.\u00a0 Some of the most successful ventures on the planet have come from what appeared to be ludicrous ideas.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Resist the urge to discourse their dreams.\u00a0 Instead of \u201cschooling them in reality\u201d let them build a few castles in the air and see if they can muster a foundation to put under them.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All these things to apply to the child in us all.\u00a0 Try them on your friends that are considered adult.\u00a0 It will make you a better friend.\u00a0 Try them on yourself \u2013 it will make you a better person.<\/p>\n
I try to apply these principles to the child in myself.\u00a0 And using these guides is the reason why single digit humans think I\u2019m okay.\u00a0 Because I recognize the good brain and the breadth of thinking they engage in.\u00a0 I ask them questions.\u00a0 In a regular voice.\u00a0\u00a0 I still laugh out loud to recall the scene of a fifty eight year old grandmother speaking to her nine year old grand daughter.\u00a0 She raised her voice.\u00a0 She slowed her speech, carefully enunciating each word.\u00a0 Finally the granddaughter rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips and said, \u201cMeemaw, I may be nine but I\u2019m not DEAF.\u201d<\/p>\n
So true.\u00a0 In fact, nine year olds hear things in ways adults have forgotten how to listen for.\u00a0 Just ask one.<\/p>\n
Mary Anne Radmacher is an internationally collected and quoted author and artist.\u00a0 She invented and guides a process called Focus Phrase.\u00a0 Information available at:<\/p>\n
Facebook.com\/a new way \u2013 radmacher focus phrase.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No Such Thing as \u201cJust A Kid.\u201d Or\u00a0 Seven Things to Do to Honor a Kid as a Growing Human I pegged the kid at eleven.\u00a0 Eleven years old.\u00a0 He was offering an alternative purchasing option to his mother as they were grocery shopping.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t hear the specifics but I could tell he was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[418,415,416,419,417],"class_list":["post-781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-joys","tag-adultchild-relationships","tag-back-to-school","tag-kids","tag-kids-are-people-too","tag-respect"],"yoast_head":"\n