Is a happy childhood the key to a good life?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/09/2015 (3648 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

According to American novelist, songwriter and satirist  Kinky Friedman, “a happy childhood is the worst possible preparation for life.”

I got a good chuckle when I read this. I also did a double take and saw the element of truth in the comment.

Now, I’m all for giving children a happy childhood but Friedman has a point. I see the fallout of parents creating cushioned, sugar-coated, ponies-and-unicorns worlds for their children.
And now we are faced with these kids in the workplace. They are driven close to the edge by circumstances in their lives. They need constant validation and acknowledgement that they are doing well.

I am working with a few young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 years old.  They are actually living proof of the truth behind Friedman’s words.

They are all remarkably bright, insightful, and mature  — perfectly able to express their emotions and articulate their dreams. They are extremely brilliant in their chosen fields of interest and boy, are they creative!

However, you can’t give them the slightest hint that you rely on them to show up and deliver consistently. This causes a lot of stress. At least, it does with the group I’m working with. But I hear the same complaints from managers and supervisors of others.

Think back to your own children when they were young and experienced their first rejections, failures or losses.  Many parents tend to protect and shield them from the horrors of the big, bad world.
But there are a handful of parents who will see the life lessons in such experiences and use them to prepare their children for life, and I think this is what Kinky was getting at.

Children can and ought to have a happy childhood. We just need to make sure we don’t turn them into young adults who expect the world to treat them as they have been treated all their lives at home.

Phyllis Reid-Jarvis is a dietitian and life coach. Contact her at living@ultimatepotentials.com