Celebrating Kids for Being Kids

Let’s celebrate kids for being kids. The ones that didn’t perform their best that day. The ones that have the potential but just don’t seem to have the “heart” at the moment. The ones that look a little messy and “flawed”.

There are times I look back at my childhood and wonder why I didn’t train harder, or apply myself more fully to perfect my skills – and then I remember I WAS JUST A KID. I enjoyed school sports, dance, music, among other things, but what I remember enjoying the most was just BEING around other kids. That was always the goal – to have fun around other people who were going through the same things I was – experiencing life at the same time and in a lot of the same ways as me. Sure it was great to win the odd thing, but cheering on my teammates and trying to be present in a world full of chaos and confusion in your youth was always ENOUGH.

I’d imagine I frustrated some teachers and coaches cause I was a smart, athletic kid, with the ability to be better in many ways, but again, I was young. Now, years later all those skills and seeds planted by coaches and trainers are now useful in my adult years. Now that I have more determination and focus, especially towards the things that mean the most to me, I can pull from the toolbox of things that were instilled in me in my younger years.

I’ve also come to realize as a parent, that while I may ask my kids countless times to do things a certain way, that it may not be until they are much older that the things I’m working to teach them actually settle in. It takes time for children to grasp socially acceptable behaviour and skills and as parents we might not see the harvest we seeded until they are gone from our homes.

So to all the coaches, teachers, and parents, while you may not see the fruits of your labour today, next week, or next year, just believe that the seeds you are planting will flourish in time. The harvest will come and it’s okay that we’re not around to see it. Once our youth reach a point of understanding themselves more deeply, that’s when they can use the tools at a higher discipline level.

Let’s let kids be kids.