Following Your Child’s Interest…Even When They Don’t Make Sense to You.
A grandma and her grandson were watching trucks at the beach today. Not surfers or boats, not waves or seashells, not birds or…you know, anything beach related. Trucks. I’ve been there.
In the mornings I often run along the boardwalk near our house (my doctor loves to expound about the airway clearing powers of running and salt water – So doc, if you’re reading this, I’m a great patient). Along my route, among the runners and walkers and photo takers and stroller pushers I came across a grandma and her grandchild.
They were standing at the railing watching a digger and a dump truck (yup, I had a truck enthusiast once too). She was patiently watching him and he was transfixed.
Now maybe she headed down to the beach to see the trucks, but that seems unlikely to me.
Maybe they came for the fresh air.
Maybe they came to play in the sand.
Maybe they came to hunt for seashells.
Maybe she just took him for a walk to get out of the house while his mom nursed a little sibling or finished a work call. Our parents are awesome like that so I can totally envision that.
The truth is I don’t know. What I do know is that it was an amazing example of following a child’s lead.
Adults like to have plans. Not all of us, but most of us. We have a vision of what something is going to look like.
also read: 20+ Unit Ideas for Kids Who Love Animals
Us former educator moms are some of the worst offenders.
We head off on an adventure with our kids with a picture in our heads of what that perfect day at the zoo will look like,
Or how much our kids will love our favorite hobby,
Or what amazing things they’ll learn about the ocean on our day at the beach.
The thing is kids don’t care about your plan. That maybe sounds blunt but it’s the truth.
Sometimes they even have their own plans.
Assateague’s Wild Horses
When my kids were about 3 we went to Assateague to see the Wild Horses.
I was SO excited. I had read about the horses on Assateague as a child and this was a bucket list things for me.
Plus, I was sure my kids would love it. How could you not love gorgeous wild horses?
In reality? They did not care at. all. about the horses.
In the corner of one of the parking lots there was a construction truck filling up a dumpster. This was all they wanted to watch.
At first I was a little annoyed. “Hey guys – look at the horsie!” I must have exclaimed a half dozen times. Each time I got the equivalent of a teenage “whatever mom – there are trucks over here.”
Eventually I remembered. It’s okay. They don’t have to love the horses. They don’t have to relish this experience of seeing wild animals roaming free.
Trucks are cool too.
I took a million pictures of the horses (who were less than 100 yards from these trucks) because it was awesome to me and they watched the trucks.
They watched the trucks while my family took their pictures.
They watched the trucks while my brother wandered down to the beach and back.
They watched the trucks while the horses cantered off down the beach.
They watched the trucks. They watched them fill the dumpster. They watched them drill a hole in the concrete. They watched and watched.
It can be really hard to shrug off your plans. It is even harder to fully invest in theirs.
But if you look closely at their transfixed little faces and try to understand the magical learning that’s happening while they watch those trucks or whatever it might be, I assure you that what follows is entirely worth it.
