Through a Child's Eyes

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When I Grow Up

When my oldest son, Jay was in preschool we attended his “preschool graduation”. In the ceremony they asked each child what they wanted to be when they grew up. I had no idea this would be part of the program so I was completely surprised by his response. From the answers some of the other kids gave it was obvious that most of them had been rehearsed. Little preschoolers were saying things like “when I grow up, I want to be a paleontologist” or “an archeologist”, “a lawyer”, etc. When it was my son’s turn, he proudly declared when he grew up he wanted to be Spiderman. Everyone laughed…imagine that, I allowed my kid to see his future through a child’s eyes instead of like an adult.

Has anyone else noticed a growing epidemic of parents pushing their kids to be over achievers as they vicariously live through them?

Through a child’s eyes, playing sports is just a game. Through a parent’s eyes, it’s training them for a future college scholarship, and if they’re really good, a professional athletic career.

Through a teenage child’s eyes, their friends are to hang out with and have fun, and their parents are first and foremost grown-ups who set boundaries. Through a teenage parent’s eyes (sometimes) their own insecurities make them act more like their friend instead of a parent in order to be liked…ultimately causing them to compromise what’s best for their child.

The Bible says we are God’s children – so how does He view us? He understands that there are stages of development in our walk with Him – He would not require total maturity from a new born Christian. Instead He’s patient in the sanctification process. Where an earthly parent may unknowingly push their own agenda instead of what’s best for their kid, God’s dreams and plans for us will always be perfect, because there is no selfishness in Him. And lastly, God wants to be our Father, AND our friend, but He never achieves this by compromising His character. He’s not moved even an inch off of His throne if we decide we don’t like His rules, because He knows ultimately they are for our own good.

So, children should be allowed to view the world through age appropriate eyes – parents should remember what it’s like to be a child and stop looking at everything through “performance based eyes”, and ALL of us should spend some time finding out God’s perspective. It should be more important how He sees things, than our own point of view.

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