“Children have such an innocent view of their world and surroundings; every thought is a garden full of awe and wonder.” ~CJ Heck
I remember one of the hardest things about being a child was learning all of the rules that came with growing up. To a kid, things were always black or white, good or bad, and right or wrong. The way I learned best was by listening to, and minding, my parents, yes, but I also learned by testing the very rules they imposed. This meant learning that there were also consequences. I spent a lot of time thinking about rules…in the “naughty chair” in the corner.
From a child’s vantage point, grownups have it easy. They can stay up as late as they want. They don’t have to go to school and sit in a stuffy classroom. They do anything they want to do and, most importantly, they hold the key to just about everything in a kid’s life, too. Grownups tell them what to eat and when; what they should wear; where they can go; when to come inside; when to take a bath; when to go to bed; when they should get up; when to pick up toys or clean their room; grownups even tell them what they can watch on TV.
In my eyes, growing up couldn’t come fast enough. I could hardly wait not to have any more rules…
Rules
Parents sure have lots of rules,
things to do and not do.
I’ll be glad when I get big
and growing up is gone through.
I won’t need a dentist
or a barber for my hair,
and I’ll go buy a chocolate cake
that I won’t have to share.
Maybe, I’ll stay up all night,
eat junk and watch TV.
If I want, I’ll sleep all day.
No more rules for me!
“How will you get up for work?
You might get fired”, Mom said.
“You won’t make any money
by sleeping late in bed.”
Why would I need money?
Who needs money anyway?
Rules are bad. When I grow up
I’ll do fun things all day.
“How will you pay your rent?
How will you buy a car?
How would you buy your grownup clothes?
(you’ll be bigger than you are).
You’ll have to buy the food you eat.
You’ll have to have a phone.
How will you pay your heating bill,
’cause surely you’ll buy a home?”
I hadn’t thought of all of that.
I can’t do that stuff.
It doesn’t sound like fun at all
and I don’t know enough.
Mom said as I get bigger,
the rules get bigger, too,
but when we start at my age,
growing up is fun to do.
She said, “People grow like houses,
step by step, and brick by brick.
That’s the way we all grow up
and having rules is part of it.”
Isn’t it funny, once we’re grown, we long for those golden days of childish innocence and long for the gentle rules of childhood…