Hey kiddos!
Yesterday was Día del Niño (Day of the Child) here in Guatemala, which means the streets of Antigua were filled with music and kaleidoscopic decorations to honor the invaluable art of simply being a kid. To remind us of all the ways kids can be our leaders and our teachers (in, ya know, frivolous things like being open, loving, imaginative, etc…)
With only a few days left before I take off to work at Finca del Niño, this little life party could not have come at a more perfect time. But celebration of childlike whimsy ought to be an everyday kind of festivity, don’t you think?
THAT BEING SAID, please accept this invitation to have your own Día del Niño today!
Here are some ideas to get the fiesta started for the children in your life, and for the childlike spirit you can never, and should never try to, extinguish:
1. When you recognize gifts in a kid, speak them–not with expectations, but affirmation. Things like, “You are a leader,” “You are patient,” “You have a beautiful voice,” “You know how to brighten people’s days,” “Your Power Ranger moves are mad impressive” can be the truth about themselves they’ve been needing to hear.
2. The next time you’re talking to a child, listen without an ounce of condescension.
“Imagine the child is your teacher. Let her tell you about the drawing or the toy, or where the story goes next. Let her show you her view of the world, in her own words. Follow her lead. Be willing to be silly, and let go of trying to direct the kid. You ask the ‘why?’s and the discover the world as she directs the kid in you.” -Bert and John Jacobs, The Life is Good Book
3. Buy some bubbles and don’t use them sparingly. Bonus points if you’re in public.
4. Say, “Screw it, let’s go get some ice cream.”
5. Talk to strangers, and more than “How are you?” Dig deeper. Ask them the significance of the logo on their shirt, the best knock-knock joke they’ve ever heard, or actually sincerely how their day is going. Speak from the randomness of your heart. Rediscover curiosity.
6. Make homemade cards for the people in your life.
Example: This one was from 7 year-old Kiara, the bright, sweet poet (from the family–mom Nicole, dad Eric, and sister Adelina– who sold their house in Seattle and are coming to live at the Finca for two and a half years!) I was rather stuck in my own head on the day she gave it to me, and it truly turned things around:
7. Sing. A lot. Create with abandon.
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” -Pablo Picasso
8. Cheer kids on, whether they are playing a sport or showing you the play they wrote themselves. Suspend your opinions and be their biggest fan. Give them the space to discover where their heart is.
9. Try something completely new.
10. Call up some friends. Make forts in the living room. Play “Would You Rather.” Have a water gun fight, rent a mechanical bull, create your own occasion.
11. Take in your surroundings and evaluate playground potential. Shopping cart as a skateboard? Curb as a balance beam? The car-windows-down breeze as a flight simulation? Dashboard as a drum set? Break room as a dance floor?
12. Be aware of your individual vulnerability/dependence, but also of the strength you find in community and in faith.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Matthew 19:14
Your invitation is this: Celebrate kids. So, by extension, celebrate exactly who you are.
Feliz Día del Niño!!