BESTSELF™ ICEBREAKER | Life Lessons 18

WHAT KEY LIFE ADVICE DID YOU LEARN FROM CHILDREN? 

Believe them.

Children do not have the wherewithal or sophistication to lie - or lie well. Often they are simply parroting what they hear spoken around them at home or in ‘safe places’ with family and friends. You can get some fascinating information if you take the time to listen to what they’re saying or, specifically, what they’re asking. If you have a child under the age of six, I can promise there are no secrets in your house! They compare notes with their friends, and ask questions of the adults around them. With curiosity and innocence, they are trying to figure out how they fit in the larger world around them.

Key life advice? If you don’t want the world to know something don’t let your kid hear or see it. If you fight with your spouse about (pick a topic), everyone in your sphere will know. If you day drink, everyone knows. If you hate making lunches and cooking (that was my ‘secret’ and at the time, it was mortifying), everyone knows. If there is physical violence in your home, everyone knows. If you belittle or call your child names, everyone knows. If you criticize or judge any friend or their kids, everyone knows.

Big or small, embarrassing or serious, everyone knows.