Pseudo Mom: 50 Valuable Lessons My Friends' Kids Have Taught Me

I have the coolest friends. And they have the coolest kids.

Some of my best friends and their children have taught me the most important lessons about life, and I am so thankful to have them in mine.

For some people, it seems kind of strange to think people who are so young are creating new lives, and for a while, it seemed really weird to me too.

But, even if I haven’t seen them in a while, my friends with children teach me more about life than some of the friends I have without children.

I think there's a quote that says something along the lines of children being the wisest creatures. This is true. My friends' kids also perk me up and remind me to take life a little less seriously.

Thank you, mom friends, for letting your children teach me more about life than I was ever able to learn in my 23 years of living. Your children are amazing. I will never stop being silly and I will never stop learning because of them.

Here are 50 of the top lessons my friends' kids have taught me about life:

1. You can eat food however you want to. Even if that means ketchup goes on everything.

2. There is always something to be silly about.

3. Laughing at yourself is funnier than laughing at someone else.

4. You can have all the toys in the world, but you will most likely only want just one.

5. A haircut can be really, really scary.

6. There is always something to smile about.

7. Smiling is a lot easier than frowning. Frowning is exhausting.

8. You’ll know who is important to you when you can’t stop crying about them once they leave.

9. Showing unconditional love is difficult, but worth it.

10. Strangers are scary.

11. But, even though strangers are scary, you shouldn’t be mean to them.

12. Actually, don’t be mean to anyone.

13. You can never have enough friends, but you should only keep the ones who respect your toys close to you.

14. The outdoors is the best playground, so explore it.

15. Bruises will heal.

16. Anything can be fun if you make it fun, even grocery shopping!

17. Never stop discovering.

18. Technology will never stop getting more and more difficult for us older people.

19. Being able to sleep anywhere is an art.

20. The world is only as small as you are.

21. Being happy doesn’t have to be difficult. Being happy is as easy as doing the things you love.

22. Loving someone shouldn’t be difficult either.

23. Learn to be amazed at the little things. Life is a lot more fun when even a piece of grass seems phenomenal.

24. The sandbox will teach you a lot about life, but so will the people you interact with in that box.

25. Stepping out of the box is more fulfilling than staying in the box too long.

26. It doesn’t really matter what clothes you wear, because they will end up getting destroyed at some point in life.

27. Even so, wearing cute clothes can be fun too.

28. Having a sibling is a blessing, not a curse. Enjoy your sibling if you have one.

29. Don’t stay mad at anything or anyone for too long.

30. The less you care about money, the happier you will be.

31. You do not have to speak the same language as someone to understand them.

32. Communicating via facial expressions is way more enjoyable than words.

33. Your race doesn’t make you a bad person.

34. In fact, your differences make you more interesting.

35. You can see the world through even the smallest person's eyes.

36. Never stop playing.

37. You are never too old to find stupid things silly.

38. You don’t always get what you want, and it’s okay to cry a little bit about it.

39. But after crying, move on and find something else to be happy about.

40. Even our favorite toys break and even our favorite Barbies get discontinued.

41. Nothing in life is permanent.

42. Tomorrow you will be a day older, so enjoy the people you are with today.

43. Take the time to get to know your family.

44. If you look on the bright side, there is no such thing as a bad day.

45. Life will always be difficult, but then again, so is making a building out of legos. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

46. We all have different talents.

47. People are amazing and beautiful if we look at them through the eyes of a child.

48. Animals are also beautiful and should be treated like our friends, no matter how scary or gross they might be.

49. There is nothing more beautiful than life.

50. Enjoy life. Always, always enjoy life.