50 things your kids want you to know

If you asked your kids to give you advice about how to parent they’d probably tell you to let them eat candy for breakfast and stay up until midnight. We took the liberty of coming up with a list that we’re sure they would agree with. Even if they’re disappointed they’re not getting a hiatus from brushing their teeth. Here are the 50 things we think kids probably want you to know (deep down, maybe really deep down):

1. I know you love me but please find something else that also makes you feel happy.
2. Also, the thing that makes you happy probably isn’t the same thing that will make me happy when I’m older and that’s okay.
3. Please let me pick out my own clothes. I may not always match but my choices really don’t reflect on you.
4. I need comfy clothes that I can play in. And that can get really, really dirty. Like caked with mud.
5. Let me fall because once I fall I’ll know I can get back up again.
6. I may like pink or blue but make sure I know there are other colours too.
7. Don’t imagine what I can do because I’m a girl (or a boy). I can do anything.
8. Don’t just talk about letting me make mistakes … actually let me make mistakes.
9. Let me see you make them too.
10. Because I actually learn most when I make mistakes, don’t you?
11. It’s okay if we miss a lesson or a game to stay home once in a while.
12. When it is time for sports let me try lots of them, but before that, let’s play catch in the backyard.
13. Whether my team wins or loses please just smile, give me a hug, and tell me you love me.
14. Please invest time in me, share your values with me, and teach me what makes a good person.
15. But definitely don’t project on to me future grown-up stuff like relationships or careers. It’s way too early to know how this choose-your-own-adventure is going to play out.
16. When I’m in grade school, please help me figure out how to manage my time and be organized.
17. But don’t do my work for me (here’s a hint, if you’ve picked up the pencil you’ve gone too far).
18. Show me what it means to live with passion. Passionately love your friends, your hobby, your work, your family, or whatever it is that gives your life meaning. It helps me understand what’s possible for me even if I don’t love exactly the same things in exactly the same way.
19. Because if you tell me to live with passion and you don’t … well, I won’t know what that means.
20. Please don’t make decisions out of fear.
21. And let me take reasonable risks.
22. But don’t accelerate my childhood. It’s going really fast on its own. (You’ll know me longer as an adult than you ever will as a child.)
23. Instead of telling me to be in the moment, show me what that means by being in the moment with me.
24. Play with me.
25. But don’t feel you always have to entertain me.
26. Let me experience nature every day.
27. Give me responsibilities starting when I’m really little.
28. Read to me.
29. Even when I’m old enough to read to myself.
30. Don’t post embarrassing things about me on Facebook.
31. That includes any photos I may not want my friends to see someday.
32. That also includes anything about bodily functions.
33. Teach me to be grateful for what we have.
34. Treat me, yourself, and other people with respect, so I know what that looks like.
35. Please don’t criticize my teachers, instructors, or coaches in front of me.
36. Let me run down hills.
37. Let me climb trees.
38. Admit when you’re wrong.
39. Take a breath.
40. Don’t expect perfection from either one of us.
41. Laugh at yourself.
42. And don’t be afraid to cry in front of me if you need to.
43. Don’t define me by how I act now. I have the ability to learn and be a lot of things but what you say will influence how I think of myself forever.
44. Remember what it was like to be my age but also remember that I’m not you.
45. So don’t assume that your talents will be my talents or your challenges will be my challenges.
46. Please don’t compare me to my friends or your friends’ kids.
47. Also, don’t compare yourself to, or compete with, other parents.
48. We’re doing good. See #40.
49. Let me figure it out.
50. Keep an open mind about what my future holds. I may surprise us both with where I go and what I do!

What do you think your child would add to the list? Tell us in the comment section below or on our Facebook page.