Little Life Lessons From Little People | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Little Life Lessons From Little People

Who's teaching who?

51
Little Life Lessons From Little People
Melissa Allen

This week, I started a job at a daycare. While normally I would be an assistant teacher, this week I was a substitute in several classrooms. Here are some life lessons I learned in my time with small humans (under four years).


It's OK to cry.

We all have pain and upsets, and it's okay to let them out. Just don't cry loudly about everything all of the time. Some things you have to let go and move on with your day.

Everyone needs a nap.

Both cranky attitudes and drowsiness are cured. A midday nap will make everything better.

Age does not matter as long as you are being a good friend.

I was playing with PlayDoh with one of the three year olds. We had this conversation:

"Ms. Emily, how old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Are you still a teenager?"

"That's a good question."

And she continued on playing. As long as you genuinely care and talk with them, then it doesn't matter your age.

Bodily functions and habits don't matter.

We all have to pee, so go ahead. Wet yourself? It happens. Wiping your nose on your shirt? Go ahead. Rolling around the floor only wearing a dress? It's cool. We're all just people here.

Children do not care about your tattoos.

I have a visible tattoo that they see every day, and none of the kids have said anything about it. Yet they notice the lip color I have on in my ID picture or the logo on my T-shirt. It's not as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

Gender doesn't matter.

I was playing catch with a 3-year-old when she briefly stopped the game to ask me this:

Kid: "Him or her?"

Me: "Me?"

Kid: "Yeah."

Me: "Her"

Kid: "OK"

Doesn't matter as long as you're nice and play well with each other. She accepted that information and moved on. The kids grab one another's hand and run off onto the playground. Why does it have to be more complicated than that?

A smile and a wave goes far.

A lot of the toddler classrooms always have a kid plastered against the door trying to see who is milling around the building. The cherubic grin you receive after giving a smile and a wave will make your day.

You have to be an adult.

If a kid gets pegged in the face with a ball, they can cry and scream in pain. The second you get pegged in the face, you have to breathe through the pain. Every time your foot gets stepped on by little feet, it has to be okay. If you're cranky, you can't lash out and throw things. Every time kids sit on your knees until your legs go numb, you have to be okay. It'll hurt a bit to you, but you'll be Superman to them.

Kids are annoying.

One minute, they're cuddly and share stuffed animals, the next minute they screaming at you. But they are also beautiful angels who will grow up to be cool adults. So raise them well. It is worth your time and effort to be a part of their lives and grow them. They are the next generation and you are there to lead them.

There are infinite lessons to be learned from children. These alone I have learned in only five short days. I have a whole summer ahead of me to learn life lessons from them and I can't wait!

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
retail
Chor Ip / Flickr

I'm sure, like me, many of you received lots of gift cards over the holidays. After working retail seasonally, here are a few tips that I learned in order to make the employees at your favorite store just a little happier and not want to charge you extra on your purchase for being awful. Here are some times when you should be nicer to retail workers than you actually are!

Keep Reading...Show less
5 Untold Struggles Of The Short Friend

I'm the Short Friend. I've been the Short Friend since about the seventh grade. I'm the one who stands in the front of the photos, gets made fun of for their height, and still shops in the kids department.

This article is not for the Almost Short Friends, i.e. the 5'3" and 5'4" Friends. No no, this is for the Actually Short Friends, i.e. the Barely Scraping 5'1" and shorter Short Friends.

Keep Reading...Show less
fall
Pixabay

Myers/Briggs personalty types are a common psychological assessment that has gone mainstream in recent years and most people know theirs.

If you don’t, check it out

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Thoughts You Have When You're Late to Your 9 AM (Again)

It's a daily struggle to make it on time, but everyone has those days where they just...don't.

1016
man running down on desert

You tried your best to avoid it, but that one statistics class that you need to take in order to graduate was only offered at 9 AM. Sound familiar? Now it's a daily struggle to make it on time, but everyone has those days where they just...don't. If that sounds relatable, then you may have experienced some (or all) of these thoughts.

Keep Reading...Show less
11 Things All Call Center Workers Can Empathize With Better Than Anyone
Youtube

This semester I started my journey as a member of my University's Alumni Outreach Team. This means a lot of things, but primarily it means that I get to make phone calls to parents and alumni two nights a week to update contact information, collect things like business cards and volunteer hours, and even ask for money.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments