Stories

As we head into the new year, I am thinking about the importance of fresh starts, which often take the form of new year’s resolutions. These resolutions are rituals of reflection that prompt adults to change; we seem to need these nudges to modify our ways. This is but one of the many ways adults are different from children, who are constantly engaged in change and primed for fresh starts. 

Childhood is really just a succession of fresh starts. Think about it: children are encountering the world and all its wonder for the first time. This means they are in a constant state of exploration and reflection. They do not need annual resolutions to consider change; they do this on a daily basis quite naturally. Accordingly, parents and teachers need to be accepting and encouraging of the boundless fresh starts children need to make. 

And really, what’s not to like about fresh starts? They keep life interesting and remind us of the wisdom of Emerson: “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Little minds never change, and children, while little people, definitely do not possess little minds. Children remind us that fresh starts and change are, instead, appropriate adjustments to the complexity of life itself. Children get this, and because their identities are still so embryonic, they do not get hung up on maintaining a forced and unnaturally consistent sense of self. Many adults can benefit from their example.

So as we move from 2022 to 2023 and reflect on our lives and the hope and promise the new year brings, here’s to the power of fresh starts and the example that children set as they approach life with awe and wonder. Happy new year!