What Have You Learned From Your Kid Lately?
Yesterday morning I was heading to work and I ran into my friend Robin and her two sons, 8 and 6. She began to tell me that her older son was really into chess and was entering competitions and winning. She had a huge grin on her face, and then she started to laugh. “And you know what the best part of it is? I never knew how to play chess, and now my eight-year-old son is teaching me. It is so cool!”
I looked behind her to see her son, looking right at her, beaming like a police light.
I love the moments in the day when my students teach me. It happens all the time, but I also like to set up those opportunities as well. It’s so important for kids to feel that the knowledge they are learning is not only important to them, but it is important to the adults around them. It makes them feel great.
So, whether it’s that they taught you how to tie your shoe differently, a new way to do math, a new card game or chess, make sure your child teaches you something at least once per week. It will increase their self-esteem, improve your relationship with them, and you get to learn. It’ll help keep you young.
May 19th, 2009
