It's another weekend once again and another one to share on the WEEKEND EXPERIENCES community. This weekend has got a lot of interesting topics, but this is one of those weekends where I made an easy pick.
The topic is on children and since I don't have any yet, I would be sharing why I want them.
If there's anything I feel should be a hobby for everyone, then it's having children around you always. I've lived for over twenty years and I'd say a lot of my best memories and experiences were in the company of children.
You might not notice it but there's quite a lot of important stuff you pick up in their seemingly unimportant daily activities.
PATIENCE
This is actually one of my most important quality as a person and it was honed in the company of children.
I like to say that the letter P in the word Parent is actually to represent Patience because sometimes they're acting like sweet little angels who can do no wrong and the next you're literally seeing little demons threatening to end your life.
They do some of the craziest things and sometimes you just have to go along with it for peace to reign.
CHARACTER AND BONDING
Dealing with tantrums
One of the things I learnt last to my dismay is that although your kids might act alike, they're very much different from one another.
If you think that because Kid A was taken care of this way, then Kid B will follow the same pattern then you'll be in for a big surprise..
The same things do not usually work for two kids so it's always a learning process day in and day out where you're always trying to find a balance between them.
Of course there's always that one kid whose character melts your heart but you're quick to understand that there should never be favouritism shown. This particular one I learnt the hard way and I would want to put to practice with my own kids this time around.
I've learnt to bond with some children to the point where I sometimes feel they should've been mine (😂maddd right). You interact with some children and they literally blow your mind away.
CHAOS
As bad as the word chaos sound, know this will most likely be your reality. I'm someone who loves a full house and this is probably why I like to spend a lot of time with children.
There's something funny about feigning mock anger or frustration. As much as I want everywhere arranged, sometimes I love the chaos going on around me. A friend would say two is chaos, anything above that is a disaster.
You learn early on that it's the times when you hear them shouting that everywhere is safe. Immediately everything goes quiet and you can't hear anything, then something seriously nasty is going on (they're probably building a tactical nuke in your backyard).
RESPONSIBILITY
This is so important to the point where I don't advice people to have children if they're sure they can't take responsibility.
The image above was the first time I had to explain to my family that I didn't have a child in secret behind their backs. Everybody kept telling me to say the truth and take responsibility by introducing them to the family. Believe me it was quite a funny lesson on taking responsibility.
Knowing you're responsible for every single thing going on in their lives is usually a good moral compass for most people. You obviously want to be on your best behavior so that your children copy those qualities.
I've seen some of my friends take responsibility for things that didn't even happen under their watch. It puts the word responsibility on a whole different light.
There's just so many experiences over the years and when I see the level of bond i've created with other peoples children, I know I can't wait to create more than that with my own children. There's always a special connection between parents and their children that can't easily be explained.
All the images used in this post are mine.