I'm sure you have chuckled while reading preschoolers response to the age old question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My favorite response is "Happy."
I have asked L on a few different occasions and gotten responses from mama, road construction worker, to drummer in a band. My favorite new response from her is "Everything!" I like to think that I have done my job in teaching her that she can do and be anything she wants, but I think I have to give a bit of credit to her teachers as well.
I am thankful that they have briefly discussed many different professions in her class. Her list this evening was quite impressive: police officer, doctor, teacher, mama, firefighter, scientist, zookeeper, ballerina, astronaut, road construction worker, and singer. Then she got frustrated and said, "Mom, what else is there to be?"
I am a firm believer in learning as much as you can and also not boxing or labeling children. I am perfectly fine being boxed into the teacher mom group because I am an adult and have chosen this path. Children are full of possibility, excitement, and curiosity. We need to stop trying to label them and push them to do one thing really well. Their time for that will come when they choose it for themselves. Let them be children with a zest for life for as long as they can!
What does your child say when you ask them what they want to be when they grow up? Comment below!
