Spending my summer working at a day camp for kids has been one of the most fun things I've ever done. Who knew hanging out with four and five year olds could make a person so happy? One of the things I've noticed from working with the kiddos is that there are a few things they have figured out. The way they live their lives is often admirable and I don't know where along the line I lost some of their habits, but I think it's important that adults pay a little more attention to what these little kids do and apply it to our own lives.
1. Tell other people why we're mad at them.
The kids I work with have no problem letting whoever they have a problem with know exactly what's wrong. They'll storm up to someone who just took the ball from them, hash out their issues, then probably happily play together five seconds later. All this, and I have a problem telling my friend that what they said to me really hurt my feelings and usually let it boil under the surface until I can't take it anymore.
2. Hang out by themselves.
If no one wants to play the same game that they do, my kiddos have no problem hanging out by themselves and they have just as much fun while doing so. For some reason, they seem to realize that it's okay to do your own thing way more than any of my older friends do.
3. Not tolerate people who are mean to them.
Kids by nature are pretty mean to each other. But the upper hand they have against grown ups (who are often equally as mean) is that they have a zero tolerance level for people who treat them badly. They will walk straight up to someone not treating them well, leave them with a "I don't want to be your friend anymore," then pivot away like they own the place.
4. Be nice to strangers.
It's not uncommon for me to be walking around and for a little kid that I've never met before to come up to me and tell me that they like my hair or that they think I'm pretty. It always makes my day and it makes me wish that I wasn't so afraid to compliment that girl's cute blouse in the public bathroom.
5. Ask people to be their friends.
I have no idea when it became so weird to sit next to someone new at lunch and straight up ask them if they wanted to hang out, but I see the little kiddos do it every day. I think we all have those people in our classes that we don't know very well, would love to get to know, but are too afraid to even try.
I'm going to try to make a conscious effort to be more like the kids that I work with at camp, and maybe other "big kids" will follow in my footsteps.
