C'est la Vie: Too Smart for Your Own Good

Patience is not my strong suit and lately my paper-thin patience has been crumpled and torn as my children have reached ages at which they both seem to think they know everything. I'm a little afraid this may never stop since as a child I recall talking back to my parents telling them how much I knew. Why as children do we always think our parents are so clueless? How can children be so sure of themselves at three, eight, or fifteen years old?? Is it the frontal lobe issue? Is it a missing hormone? In that area I am, in fact, clueless.

What I'm discovering right now is that my kids think they are smart. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they are unintelligent. In fact, I think quite the opposite. They are too smart for their own good. At least in the world that they live in. So it's a good thing I am here to protect them from their own clever ideas and imaginative schemes. They wouldn't survive to their next birthday if it wasn't for a discerning mother ruining all their fun. So, I guess that is probably why children think they know so much, it's a gut reaction to parents always telling them to "be careful" or "stop that" or "make better choices" (in other words, "you don't know anything because you're too young").

And I'm not trying to write parents as the nemesis character here either. It's the strife of parenthood versus childhood. It will be this way until the end of time. So how do we encourage our kids to be brilliant and independent thinkers while still being discerning parents? I think every family will find something unique that works for them, but the heart of parenting should always be love.

Patience and love go hand-in-hand, so hopefully the more I love in my actions and words the more I will be showing patience. In turn, I hope my kids will see my love and patience and view me as a parent who is as smart as they are. Maybe as they get older they will learn to respect my thoughts and opinions and find that age and intelligence do move forward together.... a mom can hope.