"Children aren't coloring books!"

I just finished reading "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It is an excellent book with lots of things to think about. One quote that I liked was, "Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." This is something every parent, and anyone who works with kids, should memorize and recite every day.

I think it relates to two things. First, no matter how hard we try, we can't make kids like us. If they like art, it is unfair to try and make them like sports. If they like soccer, it is unfair to make them like math. It just doesn't work that way. We can encourage kids to explore a variety of things and help them to be "well-rounded." But God has given each of us different gifts and interests. We should encourage kids to develop whatever gift they have.

I also think this applies in a brooder sense. Kids are kids and we can't expect them to act like adults. God didn't create us fully grown with all the mental capacity and experiences we will ever have. They relate to the world differently and we can't expect otherwise. We can't expect them to react to new situations like adults. We can't just color them how we want.