Things Every Mom Learns From Their Child

1. Appreciate the world

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For kids, every day is a new opportunity to learn something new about the world. Every new thing they see adds to their joy and imagination, and helps them appreciate the place they live and the life they have. If only adults could have this joy and appreciation for the things around them, eh? Well, it's something that moms definitely pick up from their kids.

2. Unlock your imagination

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Kids seem to have a limitless supply of imagination. They can play for hours on their own with just their brain to supply ideas; they can come up with the most outlandish questions and theories on their own. Even if you work in a creative job as a mom, imagination seems to be in a lot shorter supply as an adult. But just being around your child can help you see the world differently.

3. Express yourself limitlessly

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Children don't give themselves boundaries on their expression. If they want to do something, they will. If they want to say something, they usually will - even if it's not always the right thing to say. As adults, we censor ourselves a lot, not to mention how we always consider what others might think before we do anything. What if we learnt to express ourselves in a way that matches how we feel on the inside?

4. Live with less fear

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Of course, kids do feel fear. If something scares them, they're likely to run away and cry rather than face it. But they also approach things with curiosity and determination. Climbing, jumping, trying new things - they do a lot of things without thinking of consequences. It's a true 'feel the fear and do it anyway' mindset that moms are always in admiration of.

5. Don't assume things

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Adults could definitely learn something from how accepting kids are of other people. They meet new people every day, and if sometimes they have questions about the way someone looks or acts, they're more likely to just ask a parent rather than shun their new friend completely. Rather than assume and discriminate, they take people as they are - and that's a really necessary quality in this day and age.

6. Be more curious

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Children are always curious. They live life in a constant state of wonder at all the new things they're experiencing, from foods to places to even feelings. They also ask questions - a lot of questions. While this can get frustrating as a parent juggling a million things at once, it's also a characteristic we can learn from. Shouldn't we also want to learn more about the world - and ourselves - every day?

7. Love yourself unconditionally

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Hatred of themselves isn't something that comes naturally to children. In fact, that self-awareness might only kick in later in life, in their pre-teens or teen years. But when they're young, they're a lot more concerned with discovering the world around them than criticizing themselves - unlike adults, who still struggle with loving themselves. If kids have got it figured out, why haven't we?

8. Express emotions with no worry

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Very little actual thought goes into your kid's tantrum or crying session. The logic is, 'this made me mad/sad, therefore I'm going to wail/cry.' They don't think about how their emotions might look to others, and don't consider the consequences for the people around them. Expressing emotions comes almost naturally to them. Just think how easy communicating with adults would be if you really knew how they felt?

9. Appreciate the little things

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A child's day can go from an average time to an absolutely memorable, 5-star experience with just one little thing. Feeding ducks at the local park? Incredible. Seeing a plane in the sky?  The best thing ever. And thanks to this, moms also learn to see the world around them in a different way. Sometimes, it's about the little things in the present, not massive events in the past or future.

10. Push through your comfort zone

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Children have an amazing ability to keep going even when it's tough. Sure, falling off their skateboard might result in some tears and a 10-minute break, but they're always willing to give something another go. Unfortunately, it's not always the same story for adults. One little set back and we're sometimes tempted to give up completely, especially when what we're doing is scary or a little too much outside our comfort zone.

11. Don't be too hard on yourself

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It's so easy to take things to heart, and start criticizing ourselves when we make mistakes. Kids do it all the time, too - I'm sure you've witnessed a long crying session after they finished last in something or didn't get picked for a team event. But kids also find it much easier to move on from these disappointments. In the long run, it doesn't matter too much to them, and they're back to their joyful, curious selves.

12. Grow every day

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Now, this one is literal, we know. Up until their teenage years, kids are growing every day, and seeing the results of that all the time, whether it's in little marks on the side of a wall or the fact that they can now reach things they couldn't before. Growth is mainly a joy for them - so why do adults shy away from it so much? Every day is an opportunity to grow out of our shells, or take up a new activity, or learn a new skill. It should be a joy, not a chore.

13. Don't try to control your emotions

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Although kids don't always understand the emotion they're feeling, especially if they're very young, they always know that *something* is happening. In the end, they usually try to express it, even if it comes out the wrong way (like getting angry at mom when they're really frustrated at something else.) They never put limits on themselves, and that lawlessness is refreshing to see.

14. Get excited about things

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For busy parents, it can be hard to show genuine excitement about things. When you're juggling work and raising children and a million other personal and professional problems, we sometimes forget to be excited. Kids, on the other hand, seem to feel some kind of life-changing joy every day, even if it's because of the littlest moment. Why don't we do the same, then?

15. Try new things every day

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Kids are always open to trying new things. Of course, that doesn't always go well. A piece of broccoli may be immediately spat out and refused for the next six months; a visit to a theme park might invoke a life-long fear of a particular Disney character. But they're always willing to try. As an adult, it's harder to find 'new' things in our lives, but even if it's something small, trying something new could enrich our lives so much.

16. Don't let things get you too down

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Our kids are proof that there's always joy to be found in the world. Even when you're at your lowest, like your child might feel sometimes, something will come up to make them laugh and smile - and suddenly that disappointment is forgotten about. If we all saw the world in the same way, I'm sure we'd find it much easier to get over those set backs, and find new joy and laughter every day.

17. Laugh every day

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Speaking of laughter, how many times to kids laugh every day? It seems incredibly easy to make a child laugh - sometimes, it's a little thing like making a funny face or seeing a really weird-looking animal that can make them burst into hysterics. Adults certainly laugh less - but what if we made an effort to change that? I'm sure the world would seem a bit brighter.

18. Try to be active more often

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It's well known that rates of exercise have decreased over the last 20 years. This seems impossible to imagine when you look at your own kid - they seem to have an unlimited supply of energy, always racing around the house, out the door, and around the garden on their not-quite-fully-grown legs. They love being active, and it's certainly another admirable quality that adults could learn from.

19. Take advantage of the time you have

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Parents are always trying to fill their kids' days with lots of fun things. We want them to have the best time, filled with joy and opportunities to learn and grow. But are you actually taking advantage of all the hours in the day, too? Or could you forego that hour of Netflix-watching in the evening to do something new, something that could enrich your life in another way?

20. Be fearless when you love things

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Kids aren't afraid to express their feelings, and this includes when they love something. They can easily latch onto new characters, series, video games, or toys, and feel no shame in expressing how much they like something to their friends and parents. Contrastingly, adults often feel fear in expressing our real lives - whether that's people or activities we love. Like kids, we should learn to say, 'I love...' more fearlessly in our day-to-day lives.

21. Don't be afraid of change

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When they're young, kids are subjected to lots of changes. The transition from kindergarten to proper school, changes in houses, changes in friendship groups, changes in subjects and scenery. They tend to take this in their stride, adapting fast to new things and taking it in with some fear but mostly curiosity. It's an admirable quality, and something that moms can definitely learn from.

23. Always ask questions

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Kids certainly don't resist the chance to ask something. Whether it's because they're curious or need help with something, they never hold back from asking a question - something that adults don't do with the same frequency. Of course, with the internet, we have the answers at our fingertips, but what if we initiated human contact by asking questions, too? We'd probably get more back than just the answer to our question.

24. Rest when you need to

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How often have you taken your kid out for a fun adventure only to have them sleep the entire way through it? As their bodies grow and adapt, they also need time to rest and recover - something that they take for granted. However, moms should learn from it. Raising children is no joke, and sometimes you need to take a time out, too. So, rest when you need to, just like your kid does.

25. Learning is a gift

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Kids love learning. Not every subject - maths is usually a sore point among young children - but on the whole, they come home from kindergarten every day with a new fact that they're dying to tell you. They understand that learning is a gift, and the opportunity to do it every day isn't lost on them. In many cases, we've lost our joy of learning, but it's something that kids can teach us again.

26. Ask for help when you need it

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Not only are kids always asking questions about the world around them to understand it better, they're also ask for help when they need it. If they get stuck on something, need to know something crucial for a project, or just want some guidance, they're likely to go to their mom for help. As adults, we're much more likely to struggle through a problem rather than admit we need help.

27. Live without prejudice

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It's widely known that children live in a somewhat prejudice-free world. They don't tend to judge people on first glances, and are happy to play with anyone who is kind to them and not mean. While subconscious discrimination exists in some cases because of upbringing, on the whole, they're far more accepting than adults are in a lot of cases - and that's a valuable quality.

28. When you say something, be sincere

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Sure, kids lie, especially if they're ashamed of themselves and don't want to admit something. But they can also be incredibly sincere. If they tell you they love you, they mean it. If they say they're having a terrible time, that's usually sincere too. Sincerity isn't always a given in adult communication - we're a lot more aware of how our words will affect other people, but sometimes that sincerity is exactly what we need.

29. Look for opportunities to play every day

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Play is definitely part of a child's development, but they also do it because they genuinely love playing. As we get older, though, and learning and careers take over, we play less and less. Now, we often think we don't have time to play, but playing with our children reminds us that you can find fun, silliness, and joy in everything - and that maybe it's time to invest in some adult games.

30. Don't force things that aren't working

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We've already mentioned that kids have an amazing capacity to keep going when it's hard - it's why they'll keep trying to ride a bike even after they've fallen off a couple times. However, when something really isn't working, they're also not scared to admit that. If they don't like something or can't be bothered, you can bet you'll hear about it. Now, I'm sure adults would waste much less time if they just stopped with things that aren't working for them!