“You must not expect old heads upon young shoulders.” (English proverb)

Anytime we expect more than we should, we are setting ourselves up for failure. This is true in all things and parenting is no exception. When your kids are acting like kids, don’t be surprised. It’s their job. They are going to do stupid things like attaching a sister’s Barbie to a ceiling fan to “see how far she can fly when the rope snaps.” They will fight bedtime and green vegetables on principal alone. They will get upset and frightened over “silly” things like monsters and rainstorms. It’s our job to take all of that in stride and set boundaries and limitations that will benefit them anyway. Kids are kids and that’s how it should be. We shouldn’t be trying to stamp that infectious joy and curiosity out of them because we want them to be mature. That will come if and only if we show them what maturity looks like no matter what “childish” things they do.