Is Youth Wasted on the Young?

There are several things that you realize once you take the plunge and the stork has successfully delivered child(ren) to your front door.  The first is that these little bundles of joy are rather cute but pricey since they do not come equipped with clothing, food or toys.  Secondly, which has the potential for offsetting the gray hair and subsequent sleepless nights that inevitably result from being a parent, is that you have a built in excuse for reliving your youth.  Having kids gives total freedom to run with abandon, screech in delight and indulge in ice cream with toppings on a nightly basis.

Not to rush progress, but perhaps the best part of having kids is that eventually they could have kids (i.e. your grandchildren) which puts you in the enviable position of wishing these offspring will have to experience the same ups and downs (“hate to tell you I told you so”) as you had in parenting them.  To yearn that they will have a child with the same personality and temperament as they had, and you lived through, is perhaps the best retribution that a parent has in their arsenal.

But how quickly I digress. I want to focus on the “reliving your youth” part.  There is no better time than your child’s formative years (which should be under the age of 18 if you play your cards right) to re-experience those best moments of YOUR life as they relate (and you should tell your little darlings frequently) to the best moments of their life.

To the point, I am speaking of the school years.  The beginning of a new school year inspires hope and brings about that certain smell of newness.  After a summer of fun and frolic, there is no better feeling, to a parent, than the routine of their child’s school day.  One of the strings attached is the requisite “back-to-school” night, where you get to meet and assess the teachers (and they you), try to wonder why your behind doesn’t fit in those little chairs and marvel at what the school year holds and wish that you could be the one learning all the cool stuff the teacher promises.

Get over the fact that your recall of useful knowledge will probably only get you to the third grade curriculum.  After that, your child will be educating you.  You can play this to your advantage by placing your child as “the teacher” so that they will feel empowered and learning will be fun for them (and less embarrassing you).

We can argue the quality of education in our society today, but we cannot dispute the importance of the invention of school and the value it holds for well-being and redemption of our youth.  Not so much for what the kids get out of it, but for the time it gives the parents to pursue their desires.  Getting chores completed, without interruption, is worth its weight in gold.  Lunch out with friends, conferring on the finer aspects of life, is a luxury when the only stipulation is that you have to be home before the school bus delivers the goods – which, if planned properly – should give you at least a 3 hour “adult” play time.

Not that parents should be selfish, but by not rushing your kids childhood means that you have more time to indulge them, as well as yourself, in wiggling your toes in the grass, building sandcastles, going trick or treating (and getting to eat all the candy) and seeing life in a more innocent light.  Even if you get stuck on a homework question now and again, the benefits of youth far outweigh the negatives.  And since you might even be a little wiser this time around, sit back and enjoy childhood through your children’s eyes.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-