5 minute read
By Bethany Rees

Kids say the “darndest” things don’t they?

I mean, sometimes their perspective on life and the advice they give can really make us adults take a step back and think. 

Just ask any teacher ever, what they learned from their students and the answers will make you laugh, cry, and think. 

I mean they even dedicated a decades long show to kids saying the darndest things. 

Chloe and Hailey Give Tiffany Dating Advice - Kids Say The Darndest Things

In my own parenting, I’ve had moments where my kids pop off at the mouth and it leaves me frozen in my tracks. Below are four truth bombs my kids have dropped on me and how it’s made me rethink how I live or talk about life. 

Truth Bomb #1: You Choose!

Backstory: I’m an entrepreneur and CEO…Chief Everything Officer…keeping up with my business has me feeling overwhelmed. One particular goal of producing a podcast every week was overwhelming me. So I’m standing in the kitchen talking about how time consuming it is to produce a podcast every week and that I feel like it’s keeping me from accomplishing a lot of other goals. 

From the Mouth of Babes (Austin ~16): “Aren’t you the boss? So then you can decide to do the podcast every week, or every other week, or once a month. You choose.”

Lesson Learned: Why do I tend to choose the harder path for myself. Why do I add pressure to “do it all” and “be it all.” So this lesson taught me to choose to take a pin and pop the airbag of stress my head is whiplashing against. I am now producing the Leadership on the Rocks podcast every other week…AND I don’t write new blogs on weeks that my family will be on vacation or having family time. 

Truth Bomb #2: We’re not in a bucket…we’re on a continuum

Backstory: Ashlyn is having a little drama with friends. She can’t decide whether she wants to be friends with a specific girl or not. We’ve had many conversations about how both her and the girl have misbehaved to hurt each other's feelings. This was her response. 

From the Mouth of Babes (Ashlyn~11): “I’m going through a phase and it’s like I’m tasting a bunch of cupcakes.  When you’re my age (11), you got all these cupcakes or faces to choose from. To choose who you want to be when you’re younger or older. You try the niceness cupcake and meanness cupcake a whole lot throughout your life. And you’ll never stop trying them until you basically die.”

Lesson Learned: She is so right. As humans, the essence of our personalities or being isn’t in a bucket…it’s on a continuum. We start figuring out who we are in adolescence but based on the people we are around, the media we consume, or the situation we are in…we can slide from or take a bite out of the kindness cupcake or the meanness cupcake. 

Truth Bomb #3: Sometimes God takes us THROUGH, not around

Backstory: Ashlyn and Austin are not getting along. They are both guilty of making the situation worse. I separate them and have 1-1 conversations about escalation vs de-escalation. Below is Ashlyn’s response when I explain the importance of prayer and how God can help us with tough relationships. 

From the Mouth of Babes (Ashlyn ~11): “Mom, I know to pray, and I do. But instead of taking me around the situation (fighting with her brother)…God is taking me right through it.”

Lesson Learned: Oh my gosh...that is so right. By God taking us through it, we learn humility and total dependence on Him. That and we learn amazing growth in our faith as we persevere “through it.” Just as I want my son and daughter to go "through it" so they can learn how to have healthy conflict without negatively affecting their relationship, I need to thank God for taking me "through it" so I can learn humility and skills too. 

Truth Bomb #4: Kids Are Stressed Too

Backstory: Ashlyn and I are in the car on our way to school and it’s a Monday. We’re talking about what’s coming during the week (e.g. Social Studies test on Wednesday) and how we’ll study for it together. She turns her head towards me and says…

From the Mouth of Babes (Ashlyn~12): “I don’t feel on top of things today. I feel like I’m under things today.” 

Lesson Learned: Amen Sister...said every adult ever! We live in a culture of "too much" to do which leaves us adults feeling overwhelmed, or "under things." But here is my 12 year old having that same feeling. How am I supposed to walk my kid through a struggle that I have myself? So what did we do that morning when she was feeling "under things?" We prayed. We prayed and asked God to help us focus on Him because at the end of the day and our life…He is all that matters. We also asked that He give her wisdom and clarity in how to prioritize and not to feel pressure or anxiety. When I picked her up that day, I asked how she was feeling and she said..."I'm level with things now." LOL!

Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Friends, Coaches, and Teachers…let’s listen more to our kids. They have big ideas and feelings to share. And those big ideas and feelings can often teach us a lot about them and ourselves too. 

Know Better. Do Better. Live Better. Listen to Kids!

Rocks before Sand!

Scripture: 

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.,”

~Psalm 8:2

Theme Song: 

Twenty One Pilots: Stressed Out

References Used:

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.