How to Talk to Kids

You are so small, only taking up enough space to fill the cradle of my arm, and so easily delighted by the world around you.  Standing over your crib, I whisper sweet nothings to you that carry you away to beautiful places in your sleep.  I tell you only how perfect you are and then I do whatever I can to delight you.  Sometimes it seems as if I have lost complete control over the pitch of my voice as it fluctuates animatedly around the spectrum.  I speak to you of hope and what the future might mean for you, but of course those things are merely ramblings that you will soon forget.  Mostly I implore that you dream while you can and savor your infantile innocence.

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You are both wild and eager to please, but with the existence of appraisal you have discovered that there are also consequences.  I tell you to stop that, put that down, be careful, say you’re sorry, and so on, molding and constructing you to know your moral compass, then I teach you which way is north.  I speak to you with encouragement because you don’t yet know how to operate without it, and you are still so happy, so eager to take on the next day.  I tell you to slow down, to relish in your childhood–to not be so ready to take on adulthood.  Things will not always be this simple.

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Too soon you start to plan your life without me.  I tell you that it’s time to make your own decisions and I hope that I have taught you how to make them well.  You are anxious and overwhelmed.  Suddenly you aren’t being treated as a follower, and that scares you, I know.  I speak to you like the adult you are, and that scares you too.  I can no longer cradle you in my arms and pull you aside to tell you right from wrong.  My sweet nothings seem to embarrass you so I can’t exactly continue that either.  The world consists of people who will tell you that you are not good enough, but I am here to remind you that that path, then, is not good enough for you. You will find where you belong and you will flourish.  Whenever you should need it, I will remind you to make the most of each day, because the time is yours, and you should flourish in it.