A Nine-Year-Old Declares the One Good Thing About Being an Adult

[This is a guest post by Champion of Childhood award winner Matt Haas (and his daughter Amelia.)]

I just finished reading the latest installment of the Escape Adulthood newsletter and it reminded me of a conversation I had recently with my nine-year-old daughter, Amelia.

We were driving home from school and she was lamenting that she “never wanted to grow up.” As a newly appointed Champion of Childhood, it was my duty to take a deeper dive on that comment and try and find a possible antidote to this dreaded disease. What did she know that we didn’t, and could it shine some light on this and maybe, just maybe, give us some sage advice to minimize the affliction? So I asked her to tell me why being a grown up is so bad. And I quote:

1. Because you’re too big to do anything fun like kids rides and stuff.
2. You look old and not like a kid.
3. You have to stay home alone.
4. You have to pay bills and taxes.
5. You have to go shopping.
6. You don’t like kids shows on TV anymore.
7. You don’t like kids music anymore.
8. You have to get a job.
9. You have to clean the house.

The one and apparently only good thing about being an adult is……

1. You get to have kids of your own, have a family and make all the rules!

So from the mouths of babes comes the answer to all that we seek. As “adults” we have the power to make all the rules, yet many of us fail to use the very power we are granted with age. Instead of making the right rules, like dance like no one is watching and the towel baths rule, we decide games are dangerous!

So tonight when you go home, stop whatever you are doing and watch your kids and they will help you decide what rules you really need to keep, and what ones you need to break! See you at the arcade!