Lifestyle

5 Reasons Why Everyone Needs A Friend Under The Age Of 10

by Rebecca Guindi

Children need to be taken more seriously. They possess the loyalty, honesty and carefree spirit we all hope to find in a best friend and there is no reason to push them to the side based solely on their lack of life experience.

While we tend to think of our issues as complex and larger than life, our tiny, underestimated friends often offer up the simplest and most logical of solutions.

After several years as a camp counselor, babysitter and nanny, I've come to find that children are human nuggets, overflowing with joy, wisdom and a directness from which the rest of us can learn.

1. Honesty

Kids always tell the truth, even when we don't want to hear it. How frequently are we left to wonder the sincerity of the compliments and advice our friends give to us? "You look so cute!" "OMG. You guys are perfect together!" "I totally love that you're saving money by not doing laundry for two months!"

While these are all comments we welcome with open arms, they may not be genuine. Wisdom nuggets — also known as children — speak their minds.

"You smell gross. Did you take a bath today?" "Why do you wear your hair in a circle on your head? I think it's not pretty." "The boy you like looks like Craig's dad and he is not nice." "You are not my friend today." "Why do you wear the same shoes every day?" "The earring in your nose scares me."

Yes, kids can be unknowingly cruel at times, but they also say things to your face that you need to hear.

I love that their honesty is almost always delivered with good intentions and that they legitimately feel that they're helping you. We should not only welcome their thoughts and criticisms, but also seek them out.

2. Sharing

Sharing is caring — we've all heard it before. Tiny humans glean joy from sharing. When they have delicious cookies, they want you to know how delicious those cookies are. When they have the only blue marker, they want you to use it, too.

When they are playing with the best Lego set, they want you to play with them. I wish adults loved sharing the way children love sharing. Yes, our close friends are always willing to give us a sip or a bite or lend out a book or movie, but it's just not the same.

Kids share because it brings them happiness to see someone else happy; we share because we'd be dicks if we didn't.

3. Naps

Is anything as wonderful as hopping into bed in the middle of the day because you're worn out from a day at the park or a scooter adventure down Park Avenue? Probably not.

Imagine how much happier people would be if naps were a scheduled part of your day at the office? Kids get to have naps and college students indulge in naps — after that, coffee must suffice instead.

4. Snuggles

Sometimes, you have a long day and that's life. You just want to take off your shoes and stuffy clothes and curl up with something or someone to watch Netflix. If everyone had a cat or dog or an on-call snuggle partner, our problems wouldn't be solved, but they might seem less awful.

Tiny humans really love snuggling. They cozy on up, smelling like Johnson&Johnson baby shampoo, share their blankets and fall asleep in your lap. If you fall asleep, too, they just wake you up when they're ready to play again and life is good.

5. Curiosity

"But why?" If you've ever been around someone under the age of 10, you’ve probably heard this question often. Kids crave information and love to learn new facts; they want to know how and why and when.

Every conversation is 60 percent questioning, and when one question is answered, more will follow. I wish more adults realized that learning never actually stops; you might be done with school and have a kickass job or no job at all, but you should still seek new information all the time.

No one actually knows everything. Hang out with a kid for a day and you'll be inspired by his or her desire to know as much as possible.