Lessons from childhood

There are moments in life when reality hits us hard — moments when we realize that we are, in fact, adults and others expect us to behave like adults.

As we progress through this stage, life offers us freedoms as well as challenges that we should take on willingly and responsibly. Yet sometimes I wish I could rewind to the simple, good old days as a child. This is true particularly when I am bombarded with assignments and tasks, and when I listen to the news and find out many depressing things about the world I did not wish to know.

Sometimes I miss the innocence and simplicity of childhood, especially when I observe Salahedeen, my five-year-old brother, and Sabreen, my three-year-old sister. As I watch them grow I fondly reminisce the carefree days of my own childhood, when I spent endless days in my backyard having adventures with my friends. Back then, the most important decision I had to make was which game to play.

My brother and sister wake up every morning, and my mother and I help them get ready for pre-school. They typically eat breakfast in peace, but every so often they nudge one another and bicker over who will finish breakfast first and who is not eating their food like he or she should. I find it amusing to watch the simple things over which children argue.

My siblings enthusiastically go to school with the other children their age. They return home cheerfully, eager to tell me about their day including what they painted, what they ate, which of the children did not put on their “listening ears” and as a result who was put in a “time-out”, among other events.

It is ironic how, at school and at home, we adults teach children to play nice, while we are the ones responsible for waging wars. We teach them to share when we hold private property so dear and will go out of our way to obtain it for ourselves. And we tell them to treat others as they want to be treated and to always tell the truth -- rules which I believe children adhere to more than many adults.

Children take the time to appreciate the simple things in life and really do not ask for as much as we do. Also, they do not overanalyze situations and read into what others are saying to promote conflict. For children, drama and politics are nonexistent. They learn for the sake of learning rather than for a grade. Children have a natural curiosity and let their imaginations run wild and see nothing as impossible. Adults, on the other hand, must view each issue practically and rationally. Adults ask “why,” while children ask, “why not.”

French author Antoine De Saint-Exupery writes in “Le Petit Prince,” (one of my all-time favorite books) that “All grown-ups were children first (but few remember it).” He proceeds to describe one difference between adults and children:

“If you tell grown-ups, ‘I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the windows and doves on the roof,’ they won’t be able to imagine such a house. You have to tell them, ‘I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs.’ Then they exclaim, ‘What a pretty house!’”

As Saint-Exupery notes, as people become adults they tend to perceive objects through a different lens, taking consideration certain aspects over others. This is not always a bad thing, but what is important is that children are not swayed by the monetary value of things. In this sense, children are uncomplicated and easy to please and they do not have a corrupted sense of beauty.

When making friends, children see neither race nor wealth; they seek nothing more than the pleasure of that friend’s company (and their toys). When they fight it typically lasts for no more than a few minutes; they are also quick to forgive and forget.

Not everything children do is appropriate for the real world, but we can still learn a lot from them. This is ironic, seeing we are the ones who foster their morals and habits. If you ever have the opportunity, talk to a child and listen to him or her.

Because children tend to not complicate a situation, sometimes their opinions actually make more sense than those of adults. In these cases, they are most wise. As my brother and I were watching a television show about a make- believe world, I asked him, “Is that world real?” My brother responded, “Yes, it’s real. It’s on TV. Why isn’t it real?” I realized I could not argue with him.

As Saint-Exupery warns, “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.” However, he also explains, “That’s the way they are. You must not hold it against them. Children should be very understanding of grown-ups.”

I’ll leave you with a scene from a day when I picked up one of my younger sisters from school. She and her friend had spotted each other before they left and ran to give each other a hug. The parent of my sister’s friend smiled and asked, “Don’t you wish the rest of the world were like that?”

— Butheina Hamdah is an IC Columnist and a freshman majoring in political science and public administration.