Working with kids of any age presents a plethora of different challenges and various different strategies that are becoming necessary in order to care for them thoughtfully and effectively. Although it will always be a bit tough, it is guaranteed to always be fun and incredibly rewarding. You might think that you're teaching the little ones everything there is to know, but guaranteed they'll be teaching you more than you can even imagine.
1. Not to be afraid of brutal honesty.
We've all gotten a backhanded compliment from someone under the age of 10. The "You got a haircut! It doesn't look as good as your other hair," or heard the "where did all those wrinkles on your face come from." I mean, at least there's someone out there who will be honest when your pants look too small.
2. The importance of patience.
No matter how you decide to look at it, when working with kids needing patience is inevitable. You wouldn't respond well to someone screaming at you for something no one ever taught you in the first place, so why would you expect them to? Patience=Major Key.
3. How to get excited over the little things.
Even if it's just that there is an extra cheese stick in their lunch or the infamous video of a child getting an avocado as a birthday gift, kids will always find something to get excited about, and you'll find yourself a lot happier if you can find excitement in things like the fact that you actually went to bed before midnight.
4. Confidence
If they want to wear a purple sparkly bow and bright yellow rain boots in the middle of summer they're going to do it, and probably tell you how good they think they look. So why not wear what you want, and be confident about it, stop worrying about what other people are thinking about your favorite outfit and just rock it.
5. Curiosity
Explore new places, try new foods, read new books you've never heard of. Kids do this every single day, and so many adults just stop exploring their surrounding and asking questions about the world around us. No matter we're learning new things every day, so why not actively seek new experiences?
6. Own up to your own faults — and learn from them.
We always tell little ones to learn from their mistakes, but why don't we do that more often? It's such an easy concept, yet so few of us actually practice it in our own lives. Fail a test? Study more next time. Can't seem to keep your closet clean? Come up with a new method of organization. Learning from our mistakes doesn't only apply to when you steal somebody's pencil and learn to ask first next time.
7. Looking for the best in people.
Even after somebody tells you you're stupid, or you don't have the right color Converse High Tops, they may not be your BFF on the playground anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't all be civil and coexist in the same setting like kids do every single day.
8. The importance of putting yourself out there.
Kids will confidently walk up to someone else and say "hey, we should be friends." If that person says no, they confidently walk on to the next potential best friend. Without the lack of fear of rejection and the will to put themselves out there, kids wouldn't have nearly as much fun if it wasn't for the simplicity of just putting oneself out there.
9. It's okay to ask for help.
Even if the response is "you can definitely figure that out on your own," it's not always a bad thing to ask for help and search for those who are capable of giving you a little push in the right direction.
10. The beauty of simplicity.
Everything remains simple when you're younger, and all of that slowly seems to disappear as we grow up. While complexity isn't always a bad thing, keeping things simple can sometimes help us to avoid unneeded stress and worries.
