6 Lessons Preschoolers Can Teach Their Parents

The theme for my parenthood journey has been, “The longer I’m on it, the less I know!” Just when I think I have things figured out, things fall apart. I’ve always thought it was my job to teach and encourage them, but when I stop to take a step back and recognize the lessons I’ve learned, it’s my boys who are teaching ME! My most valuable lessons about life, I’ve learned from my boys. Although my children are still pretty young, I have reflected on a few things that have been very important to them and have continued to be themes in our lives!

1. Think about it. When my children make a thousand requests throughout the day, my common response is “no” if it doesn’t quite fit in my plans for the day. They’ve begun asking me to “think about it” instead of my typical response of telling them no. This pause to ponder has allowed me to be much more open to suggestions and hopefully, they have felt a little more empowered to speak up and offer suggestions. It is also important to me that I am a parent who truly listens to my children so we will always have strong, open communication.

2. Follow through with your promises. My boys are GREAT at holding me accountable for following through with the things I promise them. They are relentless in reminding me to replace those batteries or read that book and are helping me to place a little more value in my word.

3. Try new things. My boys LOVE to do new things. They feel like every new experience is a new adventure! They love to explore and investigate, whereas I’m pretty comfortable sticking with the same old things. Their sense of adventure is contagious, and have allowed us to view each new experience with more openness and willingness to learn from it!

4. Find a favorite outfit and wear it all the time! My boys like to wear the same super hero shirts all. the. time. They protest when I confiscate them to wash them. These shirts make them confident and fearless. While I’m not sure I want to wear the same super hero shirt everyday, I would love to feel more confident and fearless! Admittedly I am no expert on fashion, but I have selected a few pieces of clothing and jewelry that make me feel a little more confident and cute, and wear them all the time. It removes some of the “decision fatigue” I suffer with every single morning.

5. Say what you mean. I’ve been known to tell my boys a few confusing statements such as “I’m going to pull out my hair!” While I think that most people would understand my point, it has made me more aware to clarify the things I say.

6. Just have fun! I can tend to get a little hyper-focused on my own agenda. Focus isn’t exactly in the skill set of preschoolers. They have helped me have a little more fun in life instead of getting bogged down while marking things off my to-do list.

I’ve always thought it was my job to teach and encourage them, but when I stop to take a step back and recognize the lessons I’ve learned, it’s my boys who are teaching ME!

When I stop to reflect on these lessons, I realize the main theme within all of them is the willingness to be optimistically present in each and every moment. My boys absolutely have a passion and zeal for life! I imagine that someday, they, like myself, may forget some of these important life lessons and because of what they have taught me, I can remind them of the wisdom of preschoolers. I just couldn’t be more proud to be their mom.