“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” —Angela Schwindt
Children add joy, purpose, and fulfillment to our lives. They bring us smiles, optimism, and cheerful attitudes. And given the chance, they will teach us valuable life lessons.
Certainly, growing children (physically, socially, intellectually, and emotionally) have added a new dimension to our minimalist journey, but I would’t want it any other way. In fact, some of the most important lessons about life and minimalism have been learned by watching my children.
Consider these:
1. One neighborhood friend is worth more than a basement full of toys. My two kids can spend countless hours with their neighborhood friends running from yard to yard, playing tag, catching bugs, or swinging on swings. They can spend every afternoon and evening together without being bored. But take them away from their friends for one Saturday at home with their toys… and boredom almost immediately sets in. The joy of playing alone in a roomful of toys quickly fades.
LIFE LESSON: Relationships with others are always more exciting and fulfilling than possessions.
2. Clothes are not worn to impress others. My First Grade son has two requirements for his clothing: 1) that he can get them dirty and 2) that he won’t get too hot. He has never worn a shirt to impress a girl or a pair of slacks to impress his teacher. (He has worn a shirt and slacks because his parents asked him to, but that’s a different subject). I don’t think the idea of trying to impress others by wearing the latest fashions has ever crossed his mind. He feels no pressure to conform or impress. And thus, he’s simply content with a clean tanktop and shorts.
LIFE LESSON: Wear clothing for its usefulness rather than as an attempt to impress others.
3. Life’s pains are healed best by a hug and a kiss… not new toys. My daughter falls down often (as most four year olds do). And when she skins her knee, she only wants one thing – her mommy to pick her up, give her a kiss, and tell her that everything is going to be okay. She doesn’t ask for a new toy… she only desires love and security. She has found the antidote to pain and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
LIFE LESSON: Don’t look towards “things” to soothe the pain we encounter in life. Instead, seek love, acceptance, and security.
4. Fancy possessions and character are completely unrelated. I love helping in my son’s First Grade classroom because Kindergarten and First Grade may be the only places left on earth where labels don’t exist. At age 7, everyone is accepted and everyone plays with everyone else. Each person starts the day on equal footing. Nobody is pre-judged by the house that they live in or the clothes that they wear. Oh, that our world would begin to resemble a first-grade classroom.
LIFE LESSON: Judge people by their hearts and character, not by the meaningless externals of life.
5. Too many toys in a box only get in the way of the good ones. A funny thing happens after holidays. A mountain of new toys enter my childrens’ lives. The toys are initially meant with incredible excitement. However, after two or three days, they are pushed to the side as my kids return to the tried-and-true toys they had been playing with long before the holiday ever occurred. The new toys we thought would make them happier, don’t. Instead, they just start to get in the way.
LIFE LESSON: We often think that material possessions will bring lasting excitement into our life, but most of the time they just end up getting in the way.
6. The more toys you play with, the more time you spend cleaning them up. Because we clean up every night before bed (well, almost every night), our kids understand this pretty simple equation. The more toys we pull out of the closet, the more time we spend cleaning them up. And conversely, the less time we spend actually enjoying them.
LIFE LESSON: The more possessions we own, the more of our time is required to care for them, clean them, organize and sort them.
7. A hike in the woods beats a new video game any day. Video games simply can not compete with the graphics, the full-sensory experience, or the relationship of a family walk through the woods. Never have, never will. And for that matter, nothing else produced on television can compete either.
LIFE LESSON: Turn off the television. Go outside. Live life, don’t just watch it.
Perhaps children are in this world because we as grown-ups have so much left to relearn.
Amy says
So very true… Thanks for sharing your insights.
Katie says
Simple, clear, beautiful advice for life. Great post, Joshua.
Dan says
Great Article, thanks for this!
Frugal Babe says
Awesome post. And so totally true. Our son is two, and we’re learning those same lessons from him. He’s happiest when he’s roaming around in the backyard, playing with sticks and rocks, digging in his sandbox, throwing sticks for the dog…
Lurch Kimded says
Good post, although cant say I fully agree with 7…
I have many a fulfilling social and emotional experiences in computer games (as well as in real life before anyone says ;)) and by default since they engage the five major senses they too are “ull-sensory experience(s)”.
Also to say they “never will” is denying the progress of gaming entertainment and technology, especially with the rise in popularity of interactive gaming such as the wii and the kinetik (sp?).which promote activity and increased social gaming experiences.
But like I say, I’m a geek, so a bit biased towards tech ;)
I should say that I am not saying gaming is better than a walk in the woods, I love my occasional trips around the many historic ruins near me, I’m just not saying its no worse when engaged with correctly.
Jarkko Laine says
I love this post! When I read the lessons, I just couldn’t help but think about my own kids. It’s amazing what they teach, both through the things they do right and the things they do wrong. :)
Cat's Meow says
My niece understood the problem with consumerism when she was four years old, as she said: “We always want a new toy but when we get it, we then want something else”.
Life with my 18 month-old is certainly teaching me to live in the moment, with no hurry in the world.
Mela Kamin says
had to tweet this – awesome post and absolutely 100% agree – great job & thanks for sharing
Deb says
I love all of these! My favorites are the ones about neighborhood friends and first grade classrooms. My kids (and I!) are blessed to have incredible neighborhood friends – next door in fact! My chosen profession is first grade teacher. It doesn’t get much better than first grade. Seriously. Everyone should spend time in a first grade classroom. :)
Antonio says
I once heard the following:
“There is a certain danger in having too much; a man with two watches is never sure what time it is, a man with one watch always knows”
As I get older and observe the world in which live today and observe people and their attachments to their possessions, the more I appreciate not having too much. I live not being a slave to “things”