Childhood Vs Adulthood

There are those that compare the difference between children and adults; they start to realize what an amazing progression occurs over the years. Children are born knowing only how to cry to express his or her feelings. As an adult, they are to know the difference in a baby’s cry; is he or she crying for hunger? Are they crying to have a diaper changed? Are they crying because of a tummy ache? The questions could go on and on about why. It is a mother’s natural instinct to know what the baby may need. As babies grow into their toddler years, their little brains are like sponges; they absorb everything around their environment. That is how they learn to talk, walk, eat, and make choices of many likes and dislikes. Responsible adults help these babies learn about life; it is the baby steps that take us through life to help us reach our adult dreams.

There are many learning experiences for adults and children along the growing path. By the time one reaches adult age, they should know what is right and what is wrong; for example, not to touch a hot stove or eat a poisonous plant. A crawling baby or toddler may not know those kinds of things, where as an adult should. A toddler does not know how to go to the bathroom alone; this is why diapers were invented to help catch their waste. As adults grow older in their much later years of life, they may develop some kind of disease such as Alzheimer’s. This can throw them back into their childhood, and they may forget how to go to the bathroom, or when it is time to eat. Most responsible adults know how to manage their lives. They have learned how to read, get a job, manage their finances, and follow directions. A child has many life lessons to learn along the way, such as taking their first steps. Young adults get a good education to ensure a secure future in the work place, making sound decisions for themselves and later their families. It is like the circle of life. Babies are born, children grow, youth develop knowledge, and everyone learns something’s along the way.

Childhood and adulthood are like totally different worlds, looking back on our own childhood; people start to realize how and why one becomes the person with a certain amount of knowledge. If lucky, one may have good and responsible parents that teach them how to develop positive life skills. If children do not have strong leadership or guidance from parents or other responsible adults, they may be out in the world floundering trying to figure out who they are. Also, some may never figure out what they need to be doing with their lives in order to become successful. Some may not know how to survive in a normal environment.

It is extremely important to teach our children to become mature and responsible. Has anyone ever been to a family or company function and seen the difference in how someone may handle a conversation or a certain incident? An example is an uncle at a family reunion being immature about a discussion on cars. He was bluntly upset that another adult would not agree with him on the subject. Thinking back about that experience, a discussion was prompted about his behavior. It was told that he had always had issues accepting that he was not always right about everything.

His parents had rarely disciplined him as a child and never taught him that it is okay to be wrong on some subjects. Apparently, his parents had agreed with him on many occasions and he felt that the rest of the world would do the same. Adults would expect a child to be upset over a similar situation but never another adult. Learning to accept the good with the bad in the world is a good trait to have. Society must learn that every day is not the same, and all people will experience some unpleasant days just as many pleasant. The sooner in life this trait is learned the better. As one has always said, “Every day is not a bed of Roses” ,society has to take the good with the bad and learn to turn a negative situation into a positive if possible.

As society continues to grow and learn, some may realize the world is a big dictionary. If looking around and exploring all avenues, people can learn a lot from each other. While thinking about writing this paper, an idea came to mind to observe people in public. While shopping, the observation turned into more of a listening and watching scenario. The young adults with toddlers were using different tones of speaking with their children at the play area located in the mall. It is amazing how some parents can be so patient while others have no patience at all. It is no wonder how these children could be affected by their parent’s behavior. It has been said that children will become what their parents teach them, is this just a myth?

Why do some parents think their children should know how to do things that are not age appropriate? A story was told by a lady who was babysitting a four year old toddler that her mother thinks she is old enough to get up in the mornings, feed and dress herself for preschool. She said that was just a parent being lazy. No child should ever have to grow up before their time. It is a parents responsibility to take care of their children until each child has reached an age appropriate milestone. Of course a preschooler may be capable of dressing themselves but may not know how to match their clothes. A loving, caring parent would give that a second thought.

Every family has its own rules about when to teach their children how to cook; or do they teach their children how to cook? Theoretically, every adult should know how to cook; cooking is a survival skill. One example is an adult showing a child how to make good choices in their eating habits, such as vegetables versus fast foods. Most adults already know how to do such things; whereas a child may not. Children should never be allowed to turn on a stove without adult supervision. This could be a very dangerous situation. If parents do not teach their children the dangers of life, they may never know how to handle situations and find themselves in a bad predicament. A child cooking in the kitchen or dressing themselves versus an adult doing the same is another comparison and contrast. People are never too old to learn some things; the world has many options and is wide open for the ones that are willing to explore it.

Under observations, children are very curious about many things. They want to learn and are willing to listen to whomever may be willing to teach them. As a teenager, there are still life lessons to be learned. A teenager’s life compared to older adults is very different. Their dreams are still in the making with a lot to learn. Teen life compared to a baby is another contrast. Many things have been accomplished at that age. Compared to what a young baby has done, or what an eight-year- old has experienced, for instance, driving a car, having a job, and so on. As people grow older, they become wiser and develop according to their environment.

Childhood versus adulthood is truly amazing whenever one starts to think about how far one has come. To watch a baby grow into an adult is interesting. The small things that an adult takes for granted and does daily; a baby could never imagine or think about doing, such as brushing their teeth or hair. These are the baby steps that take us through life to help us reach our adult dreams. As humans continue to progress over the years, it seems as if they become more intelligent earlier in life than in the past. With all of the modern technology in the world today, young preschool children are learning how to operate computers. Some adults that were born in the early 40s and 50s could never imagine even turning a computer on. The comparison between adulthood and childhood continues to amaze society. From a crying baby expressing themselves, to toddlers learning how to talk and walk, young adults learning about life; to adults being responsible and surviving in today’s modern world. What they learn as a child and what they choose to remember as an adult will shape them into the human that they are today.