What Do We Learn From Children?
Children teach me important lessons almost every day.
Unconditional love - I rarely see children that don't love their parents. They cling to them because they are familiar and trusted.
Curiosity - Three year olds are invariably curious about the hospital environment. They are always happy to listen to their heart beating and to investigate any of the medical utensils that you have in your pocket. Lately, I have found that the iPhone is an excellent toy for children.
Resilience - I have seen infants and children with some of the most horrific injuries survive and flourish. It is testament to our species' ability to survive that the brain and body of these young ones can regenerate after significant injury.
Honesty - Little kids will tell you the truth about things that others may not want you to know. It is refreshing when your patient can come clean about the house habits. Of note is that they routinely lose this ability at about age eleven - for many it does not return.
Children teach us many lessons in our day to day interactions with them. Their innate ability to force us to consider what we are doing and how we present ourselves is remarkable. Thankfully innocence has a way of allowing adults an out when we recognize that we have let them down in some way or have failed them. I enjoy interacting with kids every day in part because I can learn so much about life from them.
Rae Brown, M.D.
Unconditional love - I rarely see children that don't love their parents. They cling to them because they are familiar and trusted.
Curiosity - Three year olds are invariably curious about the hospital environment. They are always happy to listen to their heart beating and to investigate any of the medical utensils that you have in your pocket. Lately, I have found that the iPhone is an excellent toy for children.
Resilience - I have seen infants and children with some of the most horrific injuries survive and flourish. It is testament to our species' ability to survive that the brain and body of these young ones can regenerate after significant injury.
Honesty - Little kids will tell you the truth about things that others may not want you to know. It is refreshing when your patient can come clean about the house habits. Of note is that they routinely lose this ability at about age eleven - for many it does not return.
Children teach us many lessons in our day to day interactions with them. Their innate ability to force us to consider what we are doing and how we present ourselves is remarkable. Thankfully innocence has a way of allowing adults an out when we recognize that we have let them down in some way or have failed them. I enjoy interacting with kids every day in part because I can learn so much about life from them.
Rae Brown, M.D.
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